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J  30^937 

Barrie 

Peter  and  Wendy 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C,  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


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Form  No.    1685 


PETER   AND   WENDY 


THE  WORKS  OF  J.  M.  BARRIE 


NOVELS,  STORIES.  PLAYS,  AND  SKETCHES 

Uniform  Edition 

AULD  LIGHT  IDYLLS,  BETTER  DEAD    ■  WHEN  A  MAN'S  SINGLE 

A  WINDOW  IN  THRUMS,  AN  EDINBURGH  ELEVEN 

THE  LITTLE  MINISTER  •  SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

MY  LADY  NICOTINE,  MARGARET  OGILVY 

TOMMY  AND  GRIZEL  •  THE  LITTLE  WHITE  BIRD 

PETER  AND  WENDY 

Alio  HALF  HOURS  •  DER  TAG  •  ECHOES  OF  THE  WAR 

PLAYS 

Uniform  Edition 

PETER  PAN  •  MARY  ROSE  •  DEAR  BRUTUS 

A  KISS  FOR  CINDERELLA  •  ALICE  SIT-BY-THE-FIRE 

WHAT  EVERY  WOMAN  KNOWS  ■  QUALITY  STREET 

THE  ADMIRABLE  CRICHTON 

SHALL  WE  JOIN  THE  LADIES?  and  other  one-act  plays   .  ECHOES 
OF  THE  WAR.    Containing:  The  Old  Lady  Shows  Her  Medals   •  The 
New  Word   •  Barbara's  Wedding  •  A  Well-Rcmembercd  Voice 
HALF  HOURS.     Containing:  Pantaloon    •    The  Twelve-Pound  Look 
Rosalind  •  The  Will 

PLAYS  IN  ONE  VOLUME 

Individual  Edition/ 

Farewell  Miss  Julie  Logan  •  The  Entrancing  Life  •  Courage  •  Peter  Pan 
in  Kensington  Gardens,  Illustrated  by  Arthur  Raclcham  ■  Peter  and 
Wendy,  Illustrated  by  F.  D.  Bedford  •  Peter  Pan  and  Wendy,  Illustrated 
by  Miss  Attwell  •  Tommy  and  Grizel,  Illustrated  by  Bernard  Partridge 
Margaret  Ogilvy 

NEW  YORK   :   CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2011  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hi! 


http://www.archive.org/details/peterwendyObarr 


tLUu^'^-  tJ[.± 


O  I   "7 


o31 


r? 


Copyright,  19H,  by 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


J 


CONTENTS 

>AGS 

CHAPTER  I  'n^ 


PETER  BREAKS  THROUGH 


( 


•  • 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  SHADOW    ....<«.         I? 

CHAPTER   III 

COME  AWAY,  COME  AWAy!      .  .  „  •  •34 

CHAPTER   IV 

THE  FLIGHT         .......         §8 

CHAPTER  V 

THE  ISLAND  COME  TRUE  .  ^  .  •  •         )'$ 


vf  PETER  AND   WENDY 


PAGE 

CHAPTER  VI 

THE  LITTLE  HOUSE      ......        94 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  HOME  UNDER  THE  GROUND   .      .      .      .110 

CHAPTER  Vin 

THE  mermaids'  LAGOON  .....      122 

CHAPTER  IX 

THJE  NEVER  BIRD  ....••      Z44 

CHAPTER  X 

THE  HAPPY  HOME         .  .  .  .  .  .         15c 

CHAPTER  XI 
Wendy's  story         ......    162 

CHAPTER  XII 

THE  CHILDREN  ARE  CARRIED  OFF     .  .  •  .176 


CONTENTS  vii 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  XIII 

DO  YOU  BELIEVE  IN  FAIRIES?  .  •  .  ,185 

CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  PIRATE  SHIP  ......      20I 

CHAPTER  XV 

"hook  OR  ME  THIS  time"    .....      214 

CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  RETURN  HOME      ......      232 

CHAPTER  XVn 

YHEN  WENDY  GREW  UP  .  •  •  •  .      24S 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


FROM   DRAWINGS   BY  F.    D.    BEDEORD 
PETER    FLEW   IN  ....  . 

PICTORIAL  TITLE-PAGE 

THE  BfRDS  WERE  FLOWN         .  .  .  , 

"let  niM  KEEP  WHO  CAN"  .  .  .  . 

THE  NEVER  NEVER  LAND        .  ,  ,  , 

PETER  ON  GUARD  ,  «  «  ,  , 

SUMMER  DAYS  ON  THE  LAGOON 
"to  die  WILL  BE  AN  AWFULLY  BIG  ADVENTURE'' 

Wendy's  story  .  .  »  . 

flung  like  bales     .  ,  -  . 

"hook  or  ME  THIS  TIME"     , 

**THIS  MAN  IS  mine"  .  c  a 

PETER  AND  JANE  o  .  ,  - 


Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

.    56 

62 

66 

108 

122 
142 
162 
186 
216 
226 
264 


CHAPTER  I 

PETER  BREAKS  THROUGH 

J^LL  children,  except  one,  grow  up.     They 

/-%     soon    know    that    they    will    grow    up, 

and    the   way    Wendy   knew   was   this. 

One  day  when  she  was  two  years  old  she  was 

playing  in  a  garden,  and  she  plucked  another 

flower  and  ran  with  it  to  her  mother.     I  suppose 

she  must  have  looked  rather  delightful,  for  Mrs. 

Darling  put  her  hand  to  her  heart  and  cried, 

**Oh,  why  can't  you  remain  like  this  for  ever!" 

This  was  all  that  passed  between  them  on  the 

subject,  but  henceforth  Wendy  knew  that  she 

must  grow  up.     You  always  know  after  you  are 

two.     Two  is  the  beginning  of  the  end. 

Of  course  they  lived  at  14,  and  until  Wendy 

came  her  mother  was  the  chief  one.     She  was  a 

lovely  lady,  with  a  romantic  mind  and  such  a 

1 


2  PETER  AND   WENDY 

sweet  mocking  mouth.  Her  romantic  mind  was 
like  the  tiny  boxes,  one  within  the  other,  that 
come  from  the  puzzHng  East,  however  many  you 
discover  there  is  always  one  more;  and  her 
sweet  mocking  mouth  had  one  kiss  on  it  that 
Wendy  could  never  get,  though  there  it  was, 
perfectly  conspicuous  in  the  right-hand  corner. 

The  way  Mr.  Darling  won  her  was  this:  the 
many  gentlemen  who  had  been  boys  when  she 
was  a  girl  discovered  simultaneously  that  they 
loved  her,  and  they  all  ran  to  her  house  to 
propose  to  her  except  Mr.  Darling,  who  took 
a  cab  and  nipped  in  first,  and  so  he  got  her. 
He  got  all  of  her,  except  the  innermost  box 
and  the  kiss.  He  never  knew  about  the  box, 
and  in  time  he  gave  up  trying  for  the  kiss. 
Wendy  thought  Napoleon  could  have  got  it, 
but  I  can  picture  him  trying,  and  then  going 
off  in  a  passion,  slamming  the  door. 

Mr.  Darling  used  to  boast  to  Wendy  that 
her  mother  not  only  loved  him  but  respected 
him.  He  was  one  of  those  deep  ones  who 
know  about  stocks  and  shares.  Of  course  no 
one  really  knows,  but  he  quite  seemed  to  know, 
and  he  often  said   stocks  were  up  and  shares 


PETER  BREAKS   THROUGH  3 

were  down  in  a  way  that  would  have  made  any 
woman  respect  him. 

Mrs.  Darling  was  married  in  white,  and  at 
first  she  kept  the  books  perfectly,  almost  glee- 
fully, as  if  it  were  a  game,  not  so  much  as  a 
Brussels  sprout  was  missing;  but  by  and  by 
whole  cauliflowers  dropped  out,  and  instead  of 
them  there  were  pictures  of  babies  without  faces. 
She  drew  them  when  she  should  have  been  tot- 
ting up.    They  were  Mrs.  Darling's  guesses. 

Wendy  came  first,  then  John,  then  Michael. 

For  a  week  or  two  after  Wendy  came  it  was 
doubtful  whether  they  would  be  able  to  keep 
her,  as  she  was  another  mouth  to  feed.  Mr. 
Darling  was  frightfully  proud  of  her,  but  he 
was  very  honourable,  and  he  sat  on  the  edge 
of  Mrs.  Darling's  bed,  holding  her  hand  and 
calculating  expenses,  while  she  looked  at  him 
imploringly.  She  wanted  to  risk  it,  come  what 
might,  but  that  was  not  his  way;  his  way  was 
with  a  pencil  and  a  piece  of  paper,  and  if  she 
confused  him  with  suggestions  he  had  to  begin 
at  the  beginning  again. 

'*Now  don't  interrupt,"  he  would  beg  of  her. 

**I  have  one  pound  seventeen  here,  and  two 


4  PETER  AND   WENDY 

and  six  at  the  office;  I  can  cut  off  my  coffee 
at  the  office,  say  ten  shillings,  making  two 
nine  and  six,  with  your  eighteen  and  three 
makes  three  nine  seven,  with  five  naught  naught 
in  my  cheque-book  makes  eight  nine  seven, — 
who  is  that  moving? — eight  nine  seven,  dot 
and  carry  seven — don't  speak,  my  own — and 
the  pound  you  lent  to  that  man  who  came  to 
the  door — quiet,  child — dot  and  carry  child — 
there,  you  've  done  it! — did  I  say  nine  nine 
seven  ?  yes,  I  said  nine  nine  seven ;  the  question 
is,  can  we  try  it  for  a  year  on  nine  nine  seven  ?" 

"Of  course  we  can,  George,"  she  cried.  But 
she  was  prejudiced  in  Wendy's  favour,  and  he 
was  really  the  grander  character  of  the  two. 

"Remember  mumps,"  he  warned  her  almost 
threateningly,  and  off  he  went  again.  *'  Mumps 
one  pound,  that  is  what  I  have  put  down, 
but  I  daresay  it  will  be  more  like  thirty 
shillings — don't  speak — measles  one  five,  Ger- 
man measles  half  a  guinea,  makes  two  fifteen 
six — don't  waggle  your  finger — whooping-cough, 
say  fifteen  shillings" — and  so  on  it  went,  and 
it  added  up  differently  each  time,  but  at  last 
Wendy  just  got  through,  with  mumps  reduced 


PETER   BREAKS   THROUGH  5 

to  twelve  six,  and  the  two  kinds  of  measles 
treated  as  one. 

There  was  the  same  excitement  over  John, 
and  Michael  had  even  a  narrower  squeak;  but 
both  were  kept,  and  soon,  you  might  have  seen 
the  three  of  them  going  in  a  row  to  Miss  Ful- 
som's  Kindergarten  school,  accompanied  by 
their  nurse. 

Mrs.  Darling  loved  to  have  everything  just  so, 
and  Mr.  Darling  had  a  passion  for  being  exactly 
like  his  neighbours;  so,  of  course,  they  had  a 
nurse.  As  they  were  poor,  owing  to  the  amount 
of  milk  the  children  drank,  this  nurse  was  a  prim 
Newfoundland  dog,  called  Nana,  who  had  be- 
longed to  no  one  in  particular  until  the  Darlings 
engaged  her.  She  had  always  thought  chil- 
dren important,  however,  and  the  Darlings  had 
become  acquainted  with  her  in  Kensington 
Gardens,  where  she  spent  most  of  her  spare 
time  peeping  into  perambulators,  and  was  much 
hated  by  careless  nursemaids,  whom  she  followed 
to  their  homes  and  complained  of  to  their  mis- 
tresses. She  proved  to  be  quite  a  treasure  of  a 
nurse.  How  thorough  she  was  at  bath-time, 
and  up  at  any  moment  of  the  night  if  one  of  her 


6  PETER  AND   WENDY 

charges  made  the  slightest  cry.  Of  course  her 
kennel  was  in  the  nursery.  She  had  a  genius 
for  knowing  when  a  cough  is  a  thing  to  have  no 
patience  with  and  when  it  needs  stocking  round 
your  throat.  She  believed  to  her  last  day  in  old- 
fashioned  remedies  like  rhubarb  leaf,  and  made 
sounds  of  contempt  over  all  this  new-fangled 
talk  about  germs,  and  so  on.  It  was  a  lesson  in 
propriety  to  see  her  escorting  the  children  to 
school,  walking  sedately  by  their  side  when  they 
were  well  behaved,  and  butting  them  back  into 
line  if  they  strayed.  On  John's  footer  days  she 
never  once  forgot  his  sweater,  and  she  usually 
carried  an  umbrella  in  her  mouth  in  case  of  rain. 
There  is  a  room  in  the  basement  of  Miss  Ful- 
som's  school  where  the  nurses  wait.  They  sat  on 
forms,  while  Nana  lay  on  the  floor,  but  that  was 
the  only  difference.  They  affected  to  ignore  her 
as  of  an  inferior  social  status  to  themselves,  and 
she  despised  their  light  talk.  She  resented  visits 
to  the  nursery  from  Mrs.  Darling's  friends,  but  if 
they  did  come  she  first  whipped  off  Michael^s 
pinafore  and  put  him  into  the  one  with  blue 
braiding,  and  smoothed  out  Wendy  and  made  a 
dash  at  John's  hair. 


PETER  BREAKS  THROUGH  7 

No  nursery  could  possibly  have  been  con- 
ducted more  correctly,  and  Mr.  Darling  knew 
it,  yet  he  sometimes  wondered  uneasily  whether 
the  neighbours  talked. 

He  had  his  position  in  the  city  to  consider. 

Nana  also  troubled  him  in  another  way.  He 
had  sometimes  a  feeling  that  she  did  not  admire 
him.  'T  know  she  admires  you  tremendously, 
George,"  Mrs.  Darling  would  assure  him,  and 
then  she  would  sign  to  the  children  to  be 
specially  nice  to  father.  Lovely  dances  followed, 
in  which  the  only  other  servant,  Liza,  was  some- 
times allowed  to  join.  Such  a  midget  she  looked 
in  her  long  skirt  and  maid's  cap,  though  she 
had  sworn,  when  engaged,  that  she  would  never 
see  ten  again.  The  gaiety  of  those  romps! 
And  gayest  of  all  was  Mrs.  Darling,  who  would 
pirouette  so  wildly  that  all  you  could  see  of  her 
was  the  kiss,  and  then  if  you  had  dashed  at  her 
you  might  have  got  it.  There  never  was  a 
simpler  happier  family  until  the  coming  of 
Peter  Pan. 

Mrs.  Darling  first  heard  of  Peter  when  she 
was  tidying  up  her  children's  minds.  It  is  the 
nightly  custom  of  every  good  mother  after  her 


8  PETER  AND   WENDY 

children  are  asleep  to  rummage  in  their  minds 
and  put  things  straight  for  next  morning,  re- 
packing into  their  proper  places  the  many 
articles  that  have  wandered  during  the  day. 
If  you  could  keep  awake  (but  of  course  you 
can't)  you  would  see  your  own  mother  doing 
this,  and  you  would  find  it  very  interesting  to 
watch  her.  It  is  quite  like  tidying  up  drawers. 
You  would  see  her  on  her  knees,  I  expect, 
lingering  humorously  over  some  of  your  con- 
tents, wondering  where  on  earth  you  had  picked 
this  thing  up,  making  discoveries  sweet  and  not 
so  sweet,  pressing  this  to  her  cheek  as  if  it  were 
as  nice  as  a  kitten,  and  hurriedly  stowing  that 
out  of  sight.  When  you  wake  in  the  morning, 
the  naughtinesses  and  evil  passions  with  which 
you  went  to  bed  have  been  folded  up  small  and 
placed  at  the  bottom  of  your  mind,  and  on 
the  top,  beautifully  aired,  are  spread  out  your 
prettier  thoughts,  ready  for  you  to  put  on. 

I  don't  know  whether  you  have  ever  seen  a 
map  of  a  person's  mind.  Doctors  sometimes 
draw  maps  of  other  parts  of  you,  and  your  own 
map  can  become  intensely  interesting,  but  catch 
them  trying  to  draw  a  map  of  a  child's  mind, 


PETER  BREAKS  THROUGH  9 

which  is  not  only  confused,  but  keeps  going 
round  all  the  time.  There  are  zigzag  lines  on 
it,  just  like  your  temperature  on  a  card,  and 
these  are  probably  roads  in  the  island,  for  the 
Neverland  is  always  more  or  less  an  island,  with 
astonishing  splashes  of  colour  here  and  there, 
and  coral  reefs  and  rakish-looking  craft  in  the 
offing,  and  savages  and  lonely  lairs,  and  gnomes 
who  are  mostly  tailors,  and  caves  through  which 
a  river  runs,  and  princes  with  six  elder  brothers, 
and  a  hut  fast  going  to  decay,  and  one  very 
small  old  lady  with  a  hooked  nose.  It  would 
be  an  easy  map  if  that  were  all,  but  there  is 
also  first  day  at  school,  religion,  fathers,  the 
round  pond,  needle-work,  murders,  hangings, 
verbs  that  take  the  dative,  chocolate  pudding 
day,  getting  into  braces,  say  ninety-nine,  three- 
pence for  pulling  out  your  tooth  yourself,  and 
so  on,  and  either  these  are  part  of  the  island 
or  they  are  another  map  showing  through,  and 
it  is  all  rather  confusing,  especially  as  nothing 
will  stand  still. 

Of  course  the  Neverlands  vary  a  good  deal. 
John's,  for  instance,  had  a  lagoon  with  flamin- 
goes flying  over  it  at  which  John  was  shooting. 


10  PETER  AND   WENDY 

while  Michael,  who  was  very  small,  had  a 
flamingo  with  lagoons  flying  over  it.  John 
lived  in  a  boat  turned  upside  down  on  the  sands, 
Michael  in  a  wigwam,  Wendy  in  a  house  of 
leaves  deftly  sewn  together.  John  had  no  friends, 
Michael  had  friends  at  night,  Wendy  had  a  pet 
wolf  forsaken  by  its  parents,  but  on  the  whole 
the  Neverlands  have  a  family  resemblance,  and 
if  they  stood  still  in  a  row  you  could  say  of 
them  that  they  have  each  other's  nose,  and  so 
forth.  On  these  magic  shores  children  at  play 
are  for  ever  beaching  their  coracles.  We 
too  have  been  there;  we  can  still  hear  the 
sound  of  the  surf,  though  we  shall  land  no 
more. 

Of  all  delectable  islands  the  Neverland  is  the 
snuggest  and  most  compact,  not  large  and 
sprawly,  you  know,  with  tedious  distances  be- 
tween one  adventure  and  another,  but  nicely 
crammed.  When  you  play  at  it  by  day  with 
the  chairs  and  table-cloth,  it  is  not  in  the  least 
alarming,  but  in  the  two  minutes  before  you 
go  to  sleep  it  becomes  very  nearly  real.  That 
is  why  there  are  night-lights. 

Occasionally  in  her  travels  through  her  chil- 


PETER  BREAKS  THROUGH   11 

dren's  minds  Mrs.  Darling  found  things  she 
could  not  understand,  and  of  these  quite  the 
most  perplexing  was  the  word  Peter.  She 
knew  of  no  Peter,  and  yet  he  was  here  and 
there  in  John  and  Michael's  minds,  while 
Wendy's  began  to  be  scrawled  all  over  with 
him.  The  name  stood  out  In  bolder  letters' 
than  any  of  the  other  words,  and  as  IMrs. 
Darling  gazed  she  felt  that  it  had  an  oddly 
cocky  appearance. 

*'Yes,  he  is  rather  cocky,"  Wendy  admitted 
with  regret.  Her  mother  had  been  questioning 
her. 

"But  who  is  he,  my  pet?" 

"He  is  Peter  Pan,  you  know,  mother." 

At  first  Mrs.  Darling  did  not  know,  but  after 
thinking  back  into  her  childhood  she  just  re- 
membered a  Peter  Pan  who  was  said  to  live 
with  the  fairies.  There  were  odd  stories  about 
him,  as  that  when  children  died  he  went  part  of 
the  way  with  them,  so  that  they  should  not  be 
frightened.  She  had  believed  in  him  at  the 
time,  but  now  that  she  was  married  and  full 
of  sense  she  quite  doubted  whether  there  was 
any  such  person. 


12  PETER  AND   WENDY 

*'Besides,"  she  said  to  Wendy,  *'he  would  be 
grown  up  by  this  time." 

"Oh  no,  he  isn't  grown  up,"  Wendy  assured 
her  confidently,  "and  he  is  just  my  size."  She 
meant  that  he  was  her  size  in  both  mind  and 
body;  she  didn't  know  how  she  knew  it,  she 
just  knew  it. 

Mrs.  Darling  consulted  Mr.  Darling,  but  he 
smiled  pooh-pooh.  "Mark  my  words,"  he  said, 
*'it  is  some  nonsense  Nana  has  been  putting 
into  their  heads;  just  the  sort  of  idea  a  dog 
would  have.  Leave  it  alone,  and  it  will  blow 
over." 

But  it  would  not  blow  over,  and  soon  the 
troublesome  boy  gave  Mrs.  Darling  quite  a 
shock. 

Children  have  the  strangest  adventures  with- 
out being  troubled  by  them.  For  instance, 
they  may  remember  to  mention,  a  week  after 
the  event  happened,  that  when  they  were  in 
the  wood  they  met  their  dead  father  and  had 
a  game  with  him.  It  was  in  this  casual  way 
that  Wendy  one  morning  made  a  disquieting 
revelation.  Some  leaves  of  a  tree  had  been 
found   on    the   nursery    floor,    which   certainly 


PETER  BREAKS  THROUGH    13 

were  not  there  when  the  children  went  to  bed, 
and  Mrs.  Darhng  was  puzzKng  over  them  when 
Wendy  said  with  a  tolerant  smile: 

"I  do  beheve  it  is  that  Peter  again!" 

'* Whatever  do  you  mean,  Wendy?" 

"It  is  so  naughty  of  him  not  to  wipe,"  Wendy 
said,  sighing.     She  was  a  tidy  child. 

She  explained  in  quite  a  matter-of-fact  way 
that  she  thought  Peter  sometimes  came  to  the 
nursery  in  the  night  and  sat  on  the  foot  of  her 
bed  and  played  on  his  pipes  to  her.  Unfortu- 
nately she  never  woke,  so  she  didn't  know  how 
she  knew,  she  just  knew. 

"What  nonsense  you  talk,  precious!  No  one 
can  get  into  the  house  without  knocking." 

*'I  think  he  comes  in  by  the  window,"  she  said. 

*'My  love,  it  is  three  floors  up." 

"  Weren't  the  leaves  at  the  foot  of  the  window, 
mother  ?  " 

It  was  quite  true;  the  leaves  had  been  found 
very  near  the  window. 

Mrs.  Darling  did  not  know  what  to  think, 
for  it  all  seemed  so  natural  to  Wendy  that  you 
could  not  dismiss  it  by  saying  she  had  been 
dreaming. 


14  PETER  AND  WENDY 

*'My  child,"  the  mother  cried,  "why  did  you 
not  tell  me  of  this  before  ? " 

"I  forgot,"  said  Wendy  lightly.  She  was  in 
a  hurry  to  get  her  breakfast. 

Oh,  surely  she  must  have  been  dreaming. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  there  were  the  leaves. 
Mrs.  Darling  examined  them  carefully;  they 
were  skeleton  leaves,  but  she  was  sure  they  did 
not  come  from  any  tree  that  grew  in  England. 
She  crawled  about  the  floor,  peering  at  it  with  a 
candle  for  marks  of  a  strange  foot.  She  rattled 
the  poker  up  the  chimney  and  tapped  the  walls. 
She  let  down  a  tape  from  the  window  to  the 
pavement,  and  it  was  a  sheer  drop  of  thirty 
feet,  without  so  much  as  a  spout  to  climb 
up  by. 

Certainly  Wendy  had  been  dreaming. 

But  Wendy  had  not  been  dreaming,  as  the 
very  next  night  showed,  the  night  on  which 
the  extraordinary  adventures  of  these  children 
may  be  said  to  have  begun. 

On  the  night  we  speak  of  all  the  children 
were  once  more  in  bed.  It  happened  to  be 
Nana's  evening  off,  and  Mrs.  Darling  had 
bathed  them  and  sung  to  them  till  one  by  one 


PETER  BREAKS  THROUGH    15 

they  had  let  go  her  hand  and  sHd  away  into 
the  land  of  sleep. 

All  were  looking  so  safe  and  cosy  that  she 
smiled  at  her  fears  now  and  sat  down  tranquilly 
by  the  fire  to  sew. 

It  was  something  for  Michael,  who  on  his 
birthday  was  getting  into  shirts.  The  fire  was 
warm,  however,  and  the  nursery  dimly  lit 
by  three  night-lights,  and  presently  the  sewing 
lay  on  Mrs.  Darling's  lap.  Then  her  head 
nodded,  oh,  so  gracefully.  She  was  asleep. 
Look  at  the  four  of  them,  Wendy  and  Michael 
over  there,  John  here,  and  Mrs.  Darling  by  the 
fire.  There  should  have  been  a  fourth  night- 
light. 

While  she  slept  she  had  a  dream.  She  dreamt 
that  the  Neverland  had  come  too  near  and  that 
a  strange  boy  had  broken  through  from  it.  He 
did  not  alarm  her,  for  she  thought  she  had  seen 
him  before  in  the  faces  of  many  women  who 
have  no  children.  Perhaps  he  is  to  be  found  in 
the  faces  of  some  mothers  also.  But  in  her 
dream  he  had  rent  the  film  that  obscures  the 
Neverland,  and  she  saw  Wendy  and  John  and 
Michael  peeping  through  the  gap. 


16  PETER  AND   WENDY 

The  dream  by  itself  would  have  been  a  trifle, 
but  while  she  was  dreaming  the  window  of  the 
nursery  blew  open,  and  a  boy  did  drop  on  the 
floor.  He  was  accompanied  by  a  strange  light, 
no  bigger  than  your  fist,  which  darted  about 
the  room  like  a  living  thing,  and  I  think  it 
must  have  been  this  light  that  wakened  Mrs. 
Darling. 

She  started  up  with  a  cry,  and  saw  the  boy, 
and  somehow  she  knew  at  once  that  he  was 
Peter  Pan.  If  you  or  I  or  Wendy  had  been 
there  we  should  have  seen  that  he  was  very  like 
Mrs.  Darling's  kiss.  He  was  a  lovely  boy,  clad 
in  skeleton  leaves  and  the  juices  that  ooze  out 
of  trees,  but  the  most  entrancing  thing  about 
him  was  that  he  had  all  his  first  teeth.  When 
he  saw  she  was  a  grown-up,  he  gnashed  the 
little  pearls  at  her. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE   SHADOW 

MRS.  DARLING  screamed,  and,  as  if 
in  answer  to  a  bell,  the  door  opened, 
and  Nana  entered,  returned  from  her 
evening  out.  She  growled  and  sprang  at  the 
boy,  who  leapt  lightly  through  the  window. 
Again  Mrs.  Darling  screamed,  this  time  in 
distress  for  him,  for  she  thought  he  was  killed, 
and  she  ran  down  into  the  street  to  look  for  his 
little  body,  but  it  was  not  there;  and  she  looked 
up,  and  in  the  black  night  she  could  see  nothing 
but  what  she  thought  was  a  shooting  star. 

She  returned  to  the  nursery,  and  found  Nana 
with  something  in  her  mouth,  which  proved  to 
be  the  boy's  shadow.  As  he  leapt  at  the 
window  Nana  had  closed  it  quickly,  too  late 
to  catch  him,  but  his  shadow  had  not  had  time 

1.7 


18  PETER  AND  WENDY 

to  get  out;  slam  went  the  window  and  snapped 
it  off. 

You  may  be  sure  Mrs.  Darling  examined  the 
shadow  carefully,  but  it  was  quite  the  ordinary 
kind. 

Nana  had  no  doubt  of  what  was  the  best 
thing  to  do  with  this  shadow.  She  hung  it  out 
at  the  window,  meaning  *'He  is  sure  to  come 
back  for  it;  let  us  put  it  where  he  can  get  it 
easily  without  disturbing  the  children." 

But  unfortunately  Mrs.  Darling  could  not 
leave  it  hanging  out  at  the  window,  it  looked 
so  like  the  washing  and  lowered  the  whole  tone 
of  the  house.  She  thought  of  showing  it  to 
Mr.  Darling,  but  he  was  totting  up  winter 
great-coats  for  John  and  Michael,  with  a  wet 
towel  round  his  head  to  keep  his  brain  clear, 
and  it  seemed  a  shame  to  trouble  him;  besides, 
she  knew  exactly  what  he  would  say:  "It  all 
comes  of  having  a  dog  for  a  nurse." 

She  decided  to  roll  the  shadow  up  and  put 
it  away  carefully  in  a  drawer,  until  a  fitting 
opportunity  came  for  telling  her  husband. 
Ah  me! 

The  opportunity  came  a  week  later,  on  that 


THE   SHADOW  19 

never-to-be-forgotten  Friday.  Of  course  it  was 
a  Friday. 

"I  ought  to  have  been  specially  careful  on 
a  Friday,"  she  used  to  say  afterwards  to  her 
husband,  while  perhaps  Nana  was  on  the  other 
side  of  her,  holding  her  hand. 

"No,  no,"  Mr.  Darling  always  said,  "I  am 
responsible  for  it  all.  I,  George  Darling,  did  it. 
Mea  culpa,  mea  culpa.' ^  He  had  had  a  classical 
education. 

They  sat  thus  night  after  night  recalling  that 
fatal  Friday,  till  every  detail  of  it  was  stamped 
on  their  brains  and  came  through  on  the  other 
side  like  the  faces  on  a  bad  coinage. 

"If  only  I  had  not  accepted  that  invitation  to 
dine  at  27,"  Mrs.  Darling  said. 

"If  only  I  had  not  poured  my  medicine  into 
Nana's  bowl,"  said  Mr.  Darling. 

"If  only  I  had  pretended  to  like  the  medicine," 
was  what  Nana's  wet  eyes  said. 

"My  liking  for  parties,  George." 

"  My  fatal  gift  of  humour,  dearest." 

"  My  touchiness  about  trifles,  dear  master  and 
mistress." 

Then  one  or  more  of  them  would  break  down 


20  PETER  AND   WENDY 

altogether:^  Nana  at  tlie  thought,  "It  's  true, 
it 's  true,  they  ought  not  to  have  had  a  dog  for 
a  nurse."  Many  a  time  it  was  Mr.  Darling  who 
put  the  handkerchief  to  Nana's  eyes. 

"That  fiend!"  Mr.  Darhng  would  cry,  and 
Nana's  bark  was  the  echo  of  it,  but  Mrs.  Darling 
never  upbraided  Peter;  there  was  something  in 
the  right-hand  comer  of  her  mouth  that  wanted 
her  not  to  call  Peter  names. 

Tliey  would  sit  there  in  the  empty  nursery, 
recalling  fondly  every  smallest  detail  of  that 
dreadful  evening.  It  had  begun  so  uneventfully, 
so  precisely  like  a  hundred  other  evenings,  with 
Nana  putting  on  the  water  for  Michael's  bath 
and  carrying  him  to  it  on  her  back. 

"I  won't  go  to  bed,"  he  had  shouted,  like  one 
who  still  believed  that  he  had  the  last  word  on 
the  subject,  *'I  won't,  I  won't.  Nana,  it  isn't 
six  o'clock  yet.  Oh  dear,  oh  dear,  I  shan't  love 
you  any  more.  Nana.  I  tell  you  I  won't  be 
bathed,  I  won't,  I  won't!" 

Then  Mrs.  Darling  had  come  in,  wearing  her 
white  evening-gown.  She  had  dressed  early 
because  Wendy  so  loved  to  see  her  in  her  even- 
ing-gown, with  the  necklace  George  had  given 


THE   SHADOW  21 

her.  She  was  wearing  Wendy's  bracelet  on  her 
arm;  she  had  asked  for  the  loan  of  it.  Wendy 
so  loTed  to  lend  her  bracelet  to  her  mother. 

She  had  found  her  two  older  children  playing 
at  being  herself  and  father  on  the  occasion  of 
Wendy's  bhth,  and  John  was  saying: 

*'I  am  happy  to  inform  you,  Mrs.  Darling, 
that  you  are  now  a  mother,"  in  just  such  a  tone 
as  Mr.  Darling  himself  may  have  used  on  the 
real  occasion. 

Wendy  had  danced  with  joy,  just  as  the  real 
Mrs.  Darling  must  have  done. 

Then  John  was  born,  with  the  extra  pomp 
that  he  conceived  due  to  the  birth  of  a  male, 
and  Michael  came  from  his  bath  to  ask  to  be 
born  also,  but  John  said  brutally  that  they  did 
not  want  any  more. 

Michael  had  nearly  cried.  "Nobody  wants 
me,"  he  said,  and  of  course  the  lady  in  evening- 
dress  could  not  stand  that. 

*T  do,"  she  said,  *T  so  want  a  third  child." 

"Boy  or  girl'^"  asked  Michael,  not  too  hope- 
fully." 

"Boy." 

Then  he  had  leapt  into  her  arms.     Such  a 


22  PETER  AND   WENDY  / 

little  thing  for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Darling  and  Nana 
to  recall  now,  but  not  so  little  if  that  was  to  be 
Michael's  last  night  in  the  nursery.  j 

They  go  on  with  their  recollections. 

*'It  was  then  that  I  rushed  in  like  a  tornado, 
wasn't  it.^"  Mr.  Darling  would  say,  scorning 
himself;  and  indeed  he  had  been  like  a  tornado. 

Perhaps  there  was  some  excuse  for  him.  He, 
too,  had  been  dressing  for  the  party,  and  all  had 
gone  well  with  him  until  he  came  to  his  tie. 
It  is  an  astounding  thing  to  have  to  tell,  but 
this  man,  though  he  knew  about  stocks  and 
shares,  had  no  real  mastery  of  his  tie.  Some- 
times the  thing  yielded  to  him  without  a  contest, 
but  there  were  occasions  when  it  would  have 
been  better  for  the  house  if  he  had  swallowed 
his  pride  and  used  a  made-up  tie. 

This  was  such  an  occasion.  He  came  rushing 
into  the  nursery  with  the  crumpled  little  brute 
of  a  tie  in  his  hand. 

"Wliy,  what  is  the  matter,  father  dear.^" 

'' Matter! "  he  yelled ;  he  really  yelled.  "  This 
tie,  it  will  not  tie."  He  became  dangerously 
sarcastic.  "Not  round  my  neck!  Round 
the   bed-post!     Oh   yes,    twenty    times   have   I 


THE   SHADOW  23 

made  it  up  round  the  bed-post,  but  round  my 
neck,  no!     Oh  dear  no!  begs  to  be  excused!" 

He  thought  Mrs.  Darhng  was  not  sufficiently 
impressed,  and  he  went  on  sternly,  "I  warn  you 
of  this,  mother,  that  unless  this  tie  is  round  my 
neck  we  don't  go  out  to  dinner  to-night,  and  if 
I  don't  go  out  to  dinner  to-night,  I  never  go 
to  the  office  again,  and  if  I  don't  go  to  the  office 
again,  you  and  I  starve,  and  our  children  will 
be  flung  into  the  streets." 

Even  then  Mrs.  Darling  was  placid.  "Let 
me  try,  dear,"  she  said,  and  indeed  that  was 
what  he  had  come  to  ask  her  to  do,  and  with 
her  nice  cool  hands  she  tied  his  tie  for  him, 
while  the  children  stood  around  to  see  their 
fate  decided.  Some  men  would  have  resented 
her  being  able  to  do  it  so  easily,  but  Mr. 
Darling  was  far  too  fine  a  nature  for  that;  he 
thanked  her  carelessly,  at  once  forgot  his  rage, 
and  in  another  moment  was  dancing  round  the 
room  with  Michael  on  his  back. 

"How  wildly  we  romped!"  says  Mrs.  Darling 
now,  recalling  it. 

"Our  last  romp!"  Mr.  Darling  groaned. 

"O     George,    do    you     remember     Michael 


M  PETER  AND   WENDY 

suddenly  said  to  me,  '  How  did  you  get  to  know 
me,  mother?"* 

*'I  remember!" 

"They  were  rather  sweet,  don't  you  think, 
George?" 

"And  they  were  ours,  ours!  and  now  they 
are  gone." 

The  romp  had  ended  with  the  appearance  of 
Nana,  and  most  unluckily  Mr.  Darling  collided 
against  her,  covering  his  trousers  with  hairs. 
They  were  not  only  new  trousers,  but  they  were 
the  first  he  had  ever  had  with  braid  on  them, 
and  he  had  to  bite  his  lip  to  prevent  the  tears 
coming.  Of  course  Mrs,  Darling  brushed  him, 
but  he  began  to  talk  again  about  its  being  a 
mistake  to  have  a  dog  for  a  nurse. 

"Geor,sre,  Nana  is  a  treasure." 

'*No  doubt,  but  I  have  an  uneasy  feeling  at 
times  that  she  looks  upon  the  children  as 
puppies." 

"Oh  no,  dear  one,  I  feel  sure  she  knows  they 
have  souls." 

"I  wonder,"  Mr.  Darling  said  thoughtfully,  *'I 
wonder."  It  was  an  opportunity,  his  wife  felt, 
for    telling    him    about    the    boy.     At    first    he 


THE   SHADOW  25 

pooh-poohed  the  story,  but  he  became  thought- 
ful when  she  showed  him  the  shadow. 

"It  is  nobody  I  know,"  he  said,  examining  it 
carefully,  "but  he  does  look  a  scoundrel." 

"We  were  still  discussing  it,  you  remember," 
says  Mr.  Darling,  "when  Nana  came  in  with 
Michael's  medicine.  You  will  never  carry  the 
bottle  in  your  mouth  again.  Nana,  and  it  is  all 
my  fault." 

Strong  man  though  he  was,  there  is  no  doubt 
that  he  had  behaved  rather  foolishly  over  the 
medicine.  If  he  had  a  weakness,  it  was  for 
thinking  that  all  his  life  he  had  taken  medicine 
boldly,  and  so  now,  when  Michael  dodged  the 
spoon  in  Nana's  mouth,  he  had  said  reprovingly, 
"Be  a  man,  Michael." 

"Won't;  won't!"  Michael  cried  naughtily. 
Mrs.  Darling  left  the  room  to  get  a  chocolate 
for  him,  and  Mr.  Darling  thought  this  showed 
want  of  firmness. 

"Mother,  don't  pamper  him,"  he  called  after 
her.  "Michael,  when  I  was  your  age  I  took 
medicine  without  a  murmur.  I  said  'Thank 
you,  kind  parents,  for  giving  me  bottles  to  make 
me  well."* 


26  PETER  AND   WENDY 

He  really  thought  this  was  true,  and  Wendy, 
who  was  now  In  her  night-gown,  believed  it  also, 
and  she  said,  to  encourage  Michael,  "That 
medicine  you  sometimes  take,  father,  is  much 
nastier,  isn't  It?" 

"Ever  so  much  nastier,"  Mr.  Darling  said 
bravely,  "and  I  would  take  It  now  as  an 
example  to  you,  Michael,  if  I  hadn't  lost  the 
bottle." 

He  had  not  exactly  lost  it;  he  had  climbed  In 
the  dead  of  night  to  the  top  of  the  wardrobe 
and  hidden  It  there.  What  he  did  not  know 
was  that  the  faithful  Liza  had  found  it,  and  put 
it  back  on  his  wash-stand. 

"I  know  where  it  is,  father,"  Wendy  cried, 
always  glad  to  be  of  service.  "I  '11  bring  it,"  and 
she  was  off  before  he  could  stop  her.  Immedi- 
ately his  spirits  sank  in  the  strangest  way. 

"  John,"  he  said,  shuddering,  "it 's  most  beastly 
stuff.     It 's  that  nasty,  sticky,  sweet  kind." 

"It  will  soon  be  over,  father,"  John  said 
cheerily,  and  then  in  rushed  Wendy  with  the 
medicine  In  a  glass. 

"I  have  been  as  quick  as  I  could,"  she  panted. 

"You    have    been    wonderfully    quick,"    her 


THE   SHADOW  %1 

father  retorted,  with  a  vindictive  politeness  that 
was  quite  thrown  away  upon  her.  *' Michael 
first,"  he  said  doggedly. 

**  Father  first,"  said  Michael,  who  was  of  a 
suspicious  nature. 

*'I  shall  be  sick,  you  know,"  Mr.  Darling  said 
threateningly. 

"Come  on,  father,"  said  John. 

"Hold  your  tongue,  John,"  his  father  rapped 
out. 

Wendy  was  quite  puzzled.  "I  thought  you 
took  it  quite  easily,  father." 

"That  is  not  the  point,"  he  retorted.  "The 
point  is,  that  there  is  more  in  my  glass  than 
in  Michael's  spoon."  His  proud  heart  was 
nearly  bursting.  "And  it  isn't  fair;  I  would 
say  it  though  it  were  with  my  last  breath;  it 
isn't  fair." 

"Father,  I  am  waiting,"  said  Michael  coldly. 

"It  's  all  very  well  to  say  you  are  waiting; 
so  am  I  waiting." 

"  Father  's  a  cowardy  custard." 

"So  are  you  a  cowardy  custard." 

"I  'm  not  frightened." 

"Neither  am  I  frightened." 


28  PETEE  AND   WENDY 

"Well,  then,  take  iV 

"Well,  then,  you  take  it/' 

Wendy  had  a  splendid  idea.  ''Why  not  both 
take  it  at  the  same  time?" 

"Certainl}^"  said  Mr.  Darling.  "x\re  you 
ready,  Michael?" 

Wendy  gave  the  words,  one,  two,  three,  and 
Michael  took  his  medicine,  but  Mr.  Darling 
slipped  his  behind  his  back. 

There  was  a  yell  of  rage  from  Michael,  and 
"O  father!"  Wendy  exclaimed. 

"Wliat  do  you  mean  by  'O  father'?" 
Mr.  Darling  demanded.  *'Stop  that  row, 
Michael.  I  meant  to  take  mine,  but  I — I 
missed  it." 

It  was  dreadful  the  way  all  the  three  were 
looking  at  him,  just  as  if  they  did  not  admire 
him.  "Look  here,  all  of  you,"  he  said  entreat- 
ingly,  as  soon  as  Nana  had  gone  into  the  bath- 
room, "I  have  just  thought  of  a  splendid  joke. 
T  shall  pour  my  medicine  into  Nana's  bowl,  and 
she  will  drink  it,  thinking  it  is  milk ! " 

It  was  the  colour  of  milk;  but  the  children 
<did  not  have  their  father's  sense  of  humour,  and 
they  looked  at  him  reproachfully  as  he  poured 


THE   SHADOW  29 

the  medicine  into  Nana's  bowl.  "What  fun!" 
he  said  doubtfully,  and  they  did  not  dare 
expose  him  when  Mrs.  Daiiing  and  Nana 
returned. 

"Nana,  good  dog,"  he  said,  patting  her,  "I 
have  put  a  little  milk  into  your  bowl. 
Nana." 

Nana  wagged  her  tail,  ran  to  the  medicine, 
and  began  lapping  it.  Then  she  gavt;  Mr. 
Darling  such  a  look,  not  an  angry  look:  she 
showed  him  the  great  red  tear  that  makes  us 
so  sorry  for  noble  dogs,  and  crept  into  her 
kennel. 

Mr.  Darling  was  frightfully  ashamed  of  him- 
self, but  he  would  not  give  in.  In  a  horrid 
silence  Mrs.  Darling  smelt  the  bowl.  **0 
George,"  she  said,  "it 's  your  medicine!" 

"It  was  only  a  joke,"  he  roared,  while  she 
comforted  her  boys,  and  Wendy  hugged  Nana. 
"Much  good,"  he  said  bitterly,  "my  wearing 
myself  to  the  bone  trying  to  be  funny  in  this 
house." 

And  still  Wendy  hugged  Nana.  "That  's 
right,"  he  shouted.  "Coddle  her!  Nobody 
coddles    me.     Oh    dear    no!     I    am    only    the 


30  PETER  AND   WENDY 

breadwinner,  why  should  I  be  coddled — wbj, 
why,  why!" 

"George,"  Mrs.  Darling  entreated  him,  *'not 
so  loud;  the  servants  will  hear  you."  Somehow 
they  had  got  into  the  way  of  calling  Liza  the 
servants. 

"Let  them!"  he  answered  recklessly.  "Bring 
in  the  whole  world.  But  I  refuse  to  allow 
that  dog  to  lord  it  in  my  nursery  for  an  hour 
longer." 

The  children  wept,  and  Nana  ran  to  him  be- 
seechingly, but  he  waved  her  back.  He  felt  he 
was  a  strong  man  again.  "In  vain,  in  vain,"  he 
cried;  "the  proper  place  for  you  is  the  yard, 
and  there  you  go  to  be  tied  up  this  instant." 

"George,  George,"  Mrs.  Darling  whispered, 
"remember  what  I  told  you  about  that  boy." 

Alas,  he  would  not  listen.  He  was  deter- 
mined to  show  who  was  master  in  that  house, 
and  when  commands  would  not  draw  Nana  from 
the  kennel,  he  lured  her  out  of  it  with  honeyed 
words,  and  seizing  her  roughly,  dragged  her 
from  the  nursery.  He  was  ashamed  of  himself, 
and  yet  he  did  it.  It  was  all  owing  to  his  too 
affectionate  nature,  which  craved  for  admiration. 


THE  SHADOW  31 

When  he  had  tied  her  up  in  the  back-yard,  the 
wretched  father  went  and  sat  in  the  passage, 
with  his  knuckles  to  his  eyes. 

In  the  meantime  Mrs.  Darling  had  put  the 
children  to  bed  in  unwonted  silence  and  lit 
their  night-lights.  They  could  hear  Nana  bark- 
ing, and  John  whimpered,  "It  is  because  he  is 
chaining  her  up  in  the  yard,"  but  Wendy  was 
wiser. 

"That  is  not  Nana's  unhappy  bark,"  she  said, 
little  guessing  what  was  about  to  happen;  "that 
is  her  bark  when  she  smells  danger." 

Danger! 

"Are  you  sure,  Wendy?" 

"Oh  yes." 

Mrs.  Darling  quivered  and  went  to  the  win- 
dow. It  was  securely  fastened.  She  looked  out, 
and  the  night  was  peppered  with  stars.  They 
were  crowding  round  the  house,  as  if  curious  to 
see  what  was  to  take  place  there,  but  she  did 
not  notice  this,  nor  that  one  or  two  of  the 
smaller  ones  winked  at  her.  Yet  a  nameless 
fear  clutched  at  her  heart  and  made  her  cry, 
"Oh,  how  I  wish  that  I  wasn't  going  to  a 
party  to-night!" 


32  PETER  AND   WENDY 

Even  Michael,  already  half  asleep,  knew  that 
she  was  perturbed,  and  he  asked,  "  Can  anything 
harm  us,  mother,  after  the  night-lights  are  lit  ? " 

** Nothing,  precious,"  she  said;  "they  are  the 
eyes  a  mother  leaves  behind  her  to  guard  her 
children." 

She  went  from  bed  to  bed  singing  enchant- 
ments over  them,  and  little  Michael  flung  his 
arms  round  her.  *'  Mother,"  he  cried,  "  I  'm  glad 
of  you."  They  were  the  last  words  she  was  to 
hear  from  him  for  a  long  time. 

No.  27  was  only  a  few  yards  distant,  but 
there  had  been  a  slight  fall  of  snow,  and 
Father  and  Mother  Darling  picked  their  way 
over  it  deftly  not  to  soil  their  shoes.  They 
were  already  the  only  persons  in  the  street,  and 
all  the  stars  were  watching  them.  Stars  are 
beautiful,  but  they  may  not  take  an  active  part 
in  anything,  they  must  just  look  on  for  ever. 
It  is  a  punishment  put  on  them  for  some- 
thing they  did  so  long  ago  that  no  star 
now  knows  what  it  was.  So  the  older  ones 
have  become  glassy-eyed  and  seldom  speak 
(winking  is  the  star  language),  but  the  little 
ones  still  wonder.     They  are  not  really  friendly 


THE  SHADOW  33 

to  Peter,  who  has  a  mischievous  way  of  stealing 
up  behind  them  and  trying  to  blow  them  out; 
but  they  are  so  fond  of  fun  that  they  were  on 
his  side  to-night,  and  anxious  to  get  the  grown- 
ups out  of  the  way.  So  as  soon  as  the  door 
of  27  closed  on  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Darling  there 
was  a  commotion  in  the  firmament,  and  the 
smallest  of  all  the  stars  in  the  Milky  Way 
screamed  out: 
"Now,  Peter!" 


CHAPTER  III 

COME   AWAY,    COME   AWAY! 

FOR  a  moment  after  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Darling 
left  the  house  the  night-lights  by  the 
beds  of  the  three  children  continued  to 
burn  clearly.  They  were  awfully  nice  little 
night-lights,  and  one  cannot  help  wishing  that 
they  could  have  kept  awake  to  see  Peter;  but 
Wendy's  light  blinked  and  gave  such  a  yawn 
that  the  other  two  yawned  also,  and  before 
they  could  close  their  mouths  all  the  three 
went  out. 

There  was  another  light  in  the  room  now,  a 
thousand  times  brighter  than  the  night-lights. 
and  in  the  time  we  have  taken  to  say  this,  it 
has  been  in  all  the  drav  ers  in  the  nursery, 
looking  for  Peter's  shadow,  rummaged  the 
wardrobe  and  turned  every  pocket  inside  out. 

34 


COME  AWAY,   COME  AWAY!       35 

It  was  not  really  a  light;  It  made  this  light  by 
flashing  about  so  quickly,  but  when  it  came  to 
rest  for  a  second  you  saw  it  was  a  fairy,  no 
longer  than  your  hand,  but  still  growing.  It 
was  a  girl  called  Tinker  Bell  exquisitely  gowned 
in  a  skeleton  leaf,  cut  low  and  square,  through 
which  her  figure  could  be  seen  to  the  best 
advantage.  She  was  slightly  inclined  to  em- 
bonpoint. 

A  moment  after  the  fairy's  entrance  the 
window  was  blown  open  by  the  breathing  of 
the  little  stars,  and  Peter  dropped  in.  He 
had  carried  Tinker  Bell  part  of  the  way, 
and  his  hand  was  still  messy  with  the  fairy 
dust. 

"Tinker  Bell,"  he  called  softly,  after  making 
sure  that  the  children  were  asleep,  "TInk,  where 
are  you  ?  "  She  was  In  a  jug  for  the  moment,  and 
liking  it  extremely;  she  had  never  been  in  a  jug 
before. 

*'  Oh,  do  come  out  of  that  jug,  and  tell  me,  do 
you  know  where  they  put  my  shadow?" 

The  loveliest  tinkle  as  of  golden  bells  answered 
him.  It  is  the  fairy  language.  You  ordinary 
children  can  never  hear  it,  but  If  you  were  to 


36  PETER  AND   WENDY 

hear  it  you  would  know  ihat  you  had  heard  it 
once  before. 

Tink  said  that  the  shadow  was  in  the  big 
box.  She  meant  the  chest  of  drawers,  and 
Peter  jumped  at  the  drawers,  scattering  their 
contents  to  the  floor  with  both  hands,  as  kings 
toss  ha'pence  to  the  crowd.  In  a  moment  he 
had  recovered  his  shadow,  and  in  his  dehght  he 
forgot  that  he  had  shut  Tinker  Bell  up  in  the 
drawer. 

If  he  iiought  at  all,  but  I  don't  believe  he 
ever  thought,  it  was  that  he  and  his  shadow, 
when  brought  near  each  other,  would  join  like 
drops  of  water,  and  when  they  did  not  he  was 
appalled.  He  ti'ied  to  stick  it  on  with  soap  from 
the  bathroom,  but  that  also  failed.  A  shudder 
passed  through  Peter,  and  he  sat  on  the  floor 
and  cried. 

His  sobs  woke  Wendy,  and  she  sat  up  in 
bed.  She  was  not  alarmed  to  see  a  stranger 
crying  on  the  nursery  floor;  she  was  only 
pleasantly   interested. 

"Boy,"  she  said  courteously,  "why  are  you 
crying  ?  " 

Peter  could  be  exceedingly  polite  also,  having 


COME  AWAY,  COME  AWAY!   37 

learned  the  grand  manner  at  fairy  ceremonies, 
and  he  rose  and  bowed  to  her  beautifully.  She 
was  much  pleased,  and  bowed  beautifully  to  him 
from  the  bed. 

"What's  your  name?"  he  asked. 

"Wendy  Moira  Angela  Darling,"  she  replied 
with  some  satisfaction,     "What  is  your  name ?" 

"Peter  Pan." 

She  was  already  sure  that  he  must  be  Peter, 
but  it  did  seem  a  comparatively  short  name. 

"Is  that  all.?" 

"Yes,"  he  said  rather  sharply.  He  felt  for 
the  first  time  that  it  was  a  shortish  name. 

"I'm  so  sorry,"  said  Wendy  Moira  Angela. 

"It  doesn't  matter,"  Peter  gulped. 

She  asked  where  he  lived. 

"Second  to  the  right,"  said  Peter,  "and  then 
straight  on  till  morning." 

"What  a  funny  address!'* 

Peter  had  a  sinking.  For  the  first  time  he 
felt  that  perhaps  it  was  a  funny  address. 

"No,  it  isn't,"  he  said. 

"I  mean,"  Wendy  said  nicely,  remembering 
that  she  was  hostess,  "is  that  what  they  put  on 
the  letters  »" 


38  PETER  AND   WENDY 

He  wished  she  had  not  mentioned  letters. 

*' Don't  get  any  letters,"  he  said  contemptu- 
ously. 

"But  your  mother  gets  letters?" 

"Don't  have  a  mother,"  he  said.  Not  only 
had  he  no  mother,  but  he  had  not  the  slightest 
desire  to  have  one.  He  thought  them  very 
over-rated  persons.  Wendy,  however,  felt  at 
once  that  she  was  in  the  presence  of  a 
tragedy. 

*'0  Peter,  no  wonder  you  were  crying,"  she 
said,  and  got  out  of  bed  and  ran  to  him. 

"I  wasn't  crying  about  mothers,"  he  said 
rather  indignantly.  "I  was  crying  because  I 
can't  get  my  shadow  to  stick  on.  Besides,  I 
wasn't  crying." 

"It  has  come  off?" 

"Yes." 

Then  Wendy  saw  the  shadow  on  the  floor, 
looking  so  draggled,  and  she  was  frightfully 
sorry  for  Peter.  "How  awful!"  she  said,  but 
she  could  not  help  smiling  when  she  saw  that 
he  had  been  trying  to  stick  it  on  with  soap. 
How  exactly  like  a  boy! 

Fortunately  she  knew  at  once  what  to  do. 


COME   AWAY,   COME   AWAY!       39 

**It  must  be  sewn  on,"  she  said,  just  a  little 
patronisingly. 

"What's  sewn?"  he  asked. 

"You  're  dreadfully  ignorant." 

"No,  I'm  not." 

But  she  was  exulting  in  his  ignorance.  "1 
shall  sew  it  on  for  you,  my  little  man,"  she  said, 
though  he  was  as  tall  as  herself,  and  she  got  out 
her  housewife,  and  sewed  the  shadow  on  to 
Peter's  foot. 

"  I  daresay  it  will  hurt  a  little,"  she  warned  him. 

"  Oh,  I  shan't  cry,"  said  Peter,  who  was  already 
of  opinion  that  he  had  never  cried  in  his  life. 
And  he  clenched  his  teeth  and  did  not  cry,  and 
soon  his  shadow  was  behaving  properly,  though 
still  a  little  creased. 

"Perhaps  I  should  have  ironed  it,"  Wendy 
said  thoughtfully,  but  Peter,  boylike,  was 
indifferent  to  appearances,  and  he  was  now 
jumping  about  in  the  wildest  glee.  Alas,  he 
had  aheady  forgotten  that  he  owed  his  bliss 
to  Wendy.  He  thought  he  had  attached  the 
shadow  himself.  "How  clever  I  am!"  he 
crowed  rapturously,  "oh,  the  cleverness  of  me!" 

It  is  humiliating  to  have  to  confess  that  this 


40  PETER  AND   WENDY 

conceit  of  Peter  was  one  of  his  most  fascinating 
qualities.  To  put  it  with  brutal  frankness,  there 
never  was  a  cockier  boy. 

But  for  the  moment  Wendy  was  shocked. 
'*You  conceit,"  she  exclaimed,  with  frightful 
sarcasm;   "of  course  I  did  nothing!" 

"You  did  a  little,"  Peter  said  carelessly,  and 
continued  to  dance. 

"A  little!"  she  replied  with  hauteur.  "If  I 
am  no  use  I  can  at  least  withdraw,"  and  she 
sprang  in  the  most  dignified  way  into  bed  and 
covered  her  face  with  the  blankets. 

To  induce  her  to  look  up  he  pretended  to  be 
going  away,  and  when  this  failed  he  sat  on  the 
end  of  the  bed  and  tapped  her  gently  with  his 
foot.  "Wendy,"  he  said,  "don't  withdraw  I 
can't  help  crowing,  Wendy,  when  I  'm  pleased 
with  myself."  Still  she  would  not  look  up, 
though  she  was  listening  eagerly.  "Wendy,"  he 
continued,  in  a  voice  that  no  woman  has  ever  yet 
been  able  to  resist,  "  Wendy,  one  girl  is  nr\ore  use 
than  twenty  boys." 

Now  Wendy  was  every  inch  a  woman,  though 
there  were  not  very  many  inches,  and  she  peeped 
out  of  the  bed-clothes 


COME  AWAY,  COME  AWAY!       41 

'*  Do  you  really  think  so,  Peter?" 

"Yes,  I  do." 

"I  think  it  's  perfectly  sweet  of  you,"  she 
declared, "  and  I  '11  get  up  again,"  and  she  sat  with 
him  on  the  side  of  the  bed.  She  also  said  she 
would  give  him  a  kiss  if  he  liked,  but  Peter  did 
not  know  what  she  meant,  and  he  held  out  his 
hand  expectantly. 

"Surely  you  know  what  a  kiss  Is  ?"  she  asked, 
aghast. 

"I  shall  know  when  you  give  it  to  me,"  he 
replied  stiffly,  and  not  to  hurt  his  feelings  she 
gave  him  a  thimble. 

"  Now,"  said  he, "  shall  I  give  you  a  kiss  ?  "  and 
she  replied  with  a  slight  primness,  "If  you 
please."  She  made  herself  rather  cheap  by 
inclining  her  face  toward  him,  but  he  merely 
dropped  an  acorn  button  into  her  hand,  so  she 
slowly  returned  her  face  to  where  it  had  been 
before,  and  said  nicely  that  she  would  wear  his 
kiss  on  the  chain  round  her  neck.  It  was  lucky 
that  she  did  put  it  on  that  chain,  for  it  was 
afterwards  to  save  her  life. 

When  people  in  our  set  are  introduced,  it  is 
customary  for  them  to  ask  each  other's  age,  and 


42  PETER  AND  WENDY 

so  Wendy,  who  always  liked  to  do  the  correct 
thing,  asked  Peter  how  old  he  was.  It  was  not 
really  a  happy  question  to  ask  him;  it  was  like 
an  examination  paper  that  asks  grammar,  when 
what  you  want  to  be  asked  is  Kings  of  England. 

"I  don't  know,"  he  replied  uneasily,  "but  I 
am  quite  young."  He  really  knew  nothing  about 
it,  he  had  merely  suspicions,  but  he  said  at  a 
venture,  "Wendy,  I  ran  away  the  day  I  was 
born." 

Wendy  was  quite  surprised,  but  interested; 
and  she  indicated  in  the  charming  drawing-room 
manner,  by  a  touch  on  her  night-gown,  that  he 
could  sit  nearer  her. 

"It  was  because  I  heard  father  and  mother," 
he  explained  in  a  low  voice,  "talking  about  what 
I  was  to  be  when  I  became  a  man."  He  was 
extraordinarily  agitated  now.  "I  don't  want 
ever  to  be  a  man,"  he  said  with  passion.  "I 
want  always  to  be  a  little  boy  and  to  have  fun. 
So  I  ran  away  to  Kensington  Gardens  and  lived 
a  long  long  time  among  the  fairies." 

She  gave  him  a  look  of  the  most  intense 
admiration,  and  he  thought  it  was  because  he 
had  run  away,  but  it  was  really  because  he  knew 


COME  AWAY,  COME  AWAY!       43 

fairies.  Wendy  had  lived  such  a  home  life  that 
to  know  fairies  struck  her  as  quite  delightful. 
She  poured  out  questions  about  them,  to  his 
surprise,  for  they  were  rather  a  nuisance  to  him, 
getting  in  his  way  and  so  on,  and  indeed  he 
sometimes  had  to  give  them  a  hiding.  Still, 
he  liked  them  on  the  whole,  and  he  told  her 
about  the  beginning  of  fairies. 

"  You  see,  Wendy,  when  the  first  baby  laughed 
for  the  first  time,  its  laugh  broke  into  a  thou- 
sand pieces,  and  they  all  went  skipping  about, 
and  that  was  the  beginning  of  fairies." 

Tedious  talk  this,  but  being  a  stay-at-home 
she  liked  it. 

"And  so,"  he  went  on  good-naturedly,  "there 
ought  to  be  one  fairy  for  every  boy  and  girl." 

"  Ought  to  be  ?    Isn't  there  ?  " 

"No.  You  see  children  know  such  a  lot  now, 
they  soon  don't  believe  in  fairies,  and  every  time 
a  child  says,  *I  don't  believe  in  fairies,'  there  is 
a  fairy  somewhere  that  falls  down  dead." 

Really,  he  thought  they  had  now  talked 
enough  about  fairies,  and  it  struck  him  that 
Tinker  Bell  was  keeping  very  quiet.  "I  can't 
think  where  she  has  gone  to,"  he  said,  rising,  and 


44  PETER  AND   WENDY 

he  called  Tink  by  name.  Wendy's  heart  wmt 
flutter  with  a  sudden  thrill. 

"Peter,"  she  cried,  clutching  him,  "you  don't 
mean  to  tell  me  that  there  is  a  fairy  in  this 
room!" 

"She  was  here  just  now,"  he  said  a  little 
impatiently.  "You  don't  hear  her,  do  you?" 
and  they  both  listened. 

"The  only  sound  I  hear,"  said  Wendy,  "is  like 
a  tinkle  of  bells." 

"  Well,  that 's  Tink,  that 's  the  fairy  language. 
I  think  I  hear  her  too." 

The  sound  came  from  the  chest  of  drawers, 
and  Peter  made  a  merry  face.  No  one  could 
ever  look  quite  so  merry  as  Peter,  and  the  love- 
liest of  gurgles  was  his  laugh.  He  had  his  first 
laugh  still. 

"Wendy,"  he  whispered  gleefully,  "I  do 
believe  I  shut  her  up  in  the  drawer!" 

He  let  poor  Tink  out  of  the  drawer,  and  she 
flew  about  the  nursery  screaming  with  fury. 
"You  shouldn't  say  such  things,"  Peter  retorted. 
"  Of  course  I  'm  very  sorry,  but  how  could  I 
know  you  were  in  the  drawer  } " 

Wendy     wajs     not     listening    to    him.     ''O 


COME  AWAY,   COME   AWAY!       45 

Peter,"  she  cried,  "if  she  would  only  stand  still 
and  let  me  see  her!" 

"They  hardly  ever  stand  still,"  he  said,  but  for 
one  moment  Wendy  saw  the  romantic  figure 
come  to  rest  on  the  cuckoo  clock.  "O  the 
lovely!"  she  cried,  though  Tink's  face  was  still 
distorted  with  passion. 

"Tink,"  said  Peter  amiably,  "this  lady  says 
she  wishes  you  were  her  fairy." 

Tinker  Bell  answered  insolently. 

"What  does  she  say,  Peter?" 

He  had  to  translate.  "She  is  not  very  polite. 
She  says  you  are  a  great  ugly  girl,  and  that  she 
is  my  fairy." 

He  tried  to  argue  with  Tink.  "You  know 
you  can't  be  my  fairy,  Tink,  because  I  am  a 
gentleman  and  you  are  a  lady." 

To  this  Tink  replied  in  these  words,  "You 
sUly  ass,"  and  disappeared  into  the  bathroom. 
"She  is  quite  a  common  fairy,"  Peter  explained 
apologetically,  "she  is  called  Tinker  Bell  be- 
cause she  mends  the  pots  and  kettles." 

They  were  together  in  the  armchair  by  this 
time,  and  Wendy  plied  him  with  more  ques- 
tions. 


46  PETER  AND   WENDY 

*'If  you  don't  live  in  Kensington  Gardens 
now " 

"Sometimes  J  do  still." 

"But  where  do  you  live  mostly  now?" 

"With  the  lost  boys." 

"Who  are  they?" 

"They  are  the  children  who  fall  out  of  their 
perambulators  when  the  nurse  is  looking  the 
other  way.  If  they  are  not  claimed  in  seven 
days  they  are  sent  far  away  to  the  Neverland 
to  defray  expenses.     I  'm  captain." 

"What  fun  it  must  be!" 

"Yes,"  said  cunning  Peter,  "but  we  are  rather 
lonely.  You  see  we  have  no  female  companion- 
ship." 

"Are  none  of  the  others  girls?" 

"Oh  no;  girls,  you  know,  are  much  too 
clever  to  fall  out  of  their  prams." 

This  flattered  Wendy  immensely.  "I  think," 
she  said,  "it  is  perfectly  lovely  the  way  you 
talk  about  girls;   John  there  just  despises  us." 

For  reply  Peter  rose  and  kicked  John  out  of 
bed,  blankets  and  all;  one  kick.  This  seemed  to 
Wendy  rather  forward  for  a  first  meeting,  and 
she  told  him  with  spirit  that  he  was  not  captain 


COME  AWAY,   COME  AWAY!       47 

m  her  house.  However,  John  continued  to 
sleep  so  placidly  on  the  floor  that  she  allowed 
hun  to  remain  there.  "And  I  know  you  meant 
to  be  kind,"  she  said,  relenting,  "so  you  may 
give  me  a  kiss." 

For  the  moment  she  had  forgotten  his  igno- 
rance about  kisses.  "I  thought  you  would  want 
it  back,"  he  said  a  little  bitterly,  and  offered  to 
return  her  the  thimble. 

*'Oh  dear,"  said  the  nice  Wendy,  "I  don't 
mean  a  kiss,  I  mean  a  thimble." 

"What's  that.?" 

"It 's  like  this."     She  kissed  him. 

"Funny!"  said  Peter  gravely.  "Now  shall  I 
give  you  a  thimble  ? " 

"If  you  wish  to/'  said  Wendy,  keeping  her 
head  erect  this  time.  ? 

Peter  thimbled  her,  and  almost  immediately 
she  screeched.     "What  is  it,  Wendy?" 

"It  was  exactly  as  if  some  one  were  pulling  my 
hair." 

"That  must  have  been  Tink.  I  never  knew 
her  so  naughty  before." 

And  indeed  Tink  was  darting  about  again, 
using  offensive  language. 


48  PETER  AND   WENDY 

"She  says  she  will  do  that  to  you,  Wendy, 
every  time  I  give  you  a  thimble." 

"But  why?" 

"Why,  Tink?" 

Again  Tink  replied,  "You  silly  ass."  Peter 
could  not  understand  why,  but  Wendy  un- 
derstood, and  she  was  just  slightly  disap- 
pointed when  he  admitted  that  he  came  to 
the  nursery  window  not  to  see  her  but  to 
listen  to  stories. 

"You  see  I  don't  know  any  stories.  None  of 
the  lost  boys  know  any  stories." 

"How  perfectly  awful,"  Wendy  said. 

"Do  you  know,"  Peter  asked,  "why  swallows 
build  in  the  eaves  of  houses?  It  is  to 
listen  to  the  stories.  O  Wendy,  your  mother 
was  telling  you  such  a  lovely  story." 

"Wliich  story  was  it?" 

"About  the  prince  who  couldn't  find  the  lady 
who  wore  the  glass  slipper." 

"Peter,"  said  Wendy  excitedly,  "that  was 
Cinderella,  and  he  found  her,  and  they  lived 
happy  ever  after." 

Peter  was  so  glad  that  he  rose  from  the  floor, 
where  they  had  been  sitting,  and  hurried  to  the 


COME  AWAY,   COME  AWAY!       49 

window.  "Where  are  you  going?"  she  cried 
with  misgiving. 

"To  tell  the  other  boys." 

"Don't  go,  Peter,"  she  entreated,  "I  know 
such  lots  of  stories." 

Those  were  her  precise  words,  so  there  can  be 
no  denying  that  it  was  she  who  first  tempted 
him. 

He  came  back,  and  there  was  a  greedy  look 
in  his  eyes  now  which  ought  to  have  alarmed 
her,  but  did  not. 

"Oh,  the  stories  I  could  tell  to  the  boys!" 
she  cried,  and  then  Peter  gripped  her  and  began 
to  draw  her  toward  the  window. 

"Let  me  go!"  she  ordered  him. 

"Wendy,  do  come  with  me  and  tell  the  other 
boys." 

Of  course  she  was  very  pleased  to  be  asked, 
but  she  said,  "Oh  dear,  I  can't.  Think  of 
mummy!     Besides,  I  can't  fly." 

"I '11  teach  you." 

"Oh,  how  lovely  to  fly." 

"I  *11  teach  you  how  to  jump  on  the  wind's 
back,  and  then  away  we  go." 

**Oo!"  she  exclaimed  rapturously^ 


50  PETER  AND   WENDY 

"Wendy,  Wendy  when  you  are  sleeping  in 
your  silly  bed  you  might  be  flying  about  with 
me  saying  funny  things  to  the  stars." 

"Oo!" 

"And,  Wendy,  there  are  mermaids." 

"Mermaids!     With  tails?" 

"Such  long  tails." 

"Oh,"  cried  Wendy,  "to  see  a  mermaid!" 

He  had  become  frightfully  cunning.  "  Wendy, 
he  said,  "how  we  should  all  respect  you." 

She  was  wriggling  her  body  in  distress.  It 
was  quite  as  if  she  were  trying  to  remain  on  the 
nursery  floor. 

But  he  had  no  pity  for  her. 

"Wendy,"  he  said,  the  sly  one,  "you  could 
tuck  us  in  at  night." 

"Oo!" 

"None  of  us  has  ever  been  tucked  in  at  night." 

"  Oo,"  and  her  arms  went  out  to  him. 

"And  you  could  darn  our  clothes,  and  make 
pockets  for  us.     None  of  us  has  any  pockets." 

How  could  she  resist.  "  Of  course  it 's  awfully 
fascinating!"  she  cried.  "Peter,  would  you 
teach  John  and  Michael  to  fly  too.?" 

"If  you  like,"  he  said  indifferently,  and  she 


COIVIE  AWAY,   COME   AWAY!       51 

fan  to  John  and  Michael  and  shook  them. 
*'  Wake  up,"  she  cried,  "Peter  Pan  has  come  and 
he  is  to  teach  us  to  flj." 

John  rubbed  his  eyes.  **Then  I  shall  get 
up,"  he  said.  Of  course  he  was  on  the  floor 
already.     *' Hallo,"  he  said,  "I  am  up!" 

Michael  was  up  by  this  time  also,  looking  as 
sharp  as  a  knife  with  six  blades  and  a  saw,  but 
Peter  suddenly  signed  silence.  Their  faces 
assumed  the  awful  craftiness  of  children  listen- 
ing for  sounds  from  the  grown-up  world.  All 
was  as  still  as  salt.  Then  everything  was  right. 
No,  stop!  Everything  was  wrong.  Nana,  who 
had  been  barking  distressfully  all  the  evening, 
was  quiet  now.  It  was  her  silence  they  had 
heard ! 

*'Out  with  the  light!  Hide!  Quick!"  cried 
John,  taking  command  for  the  only  time 
throughout  the  whole  adventure.  And  thus 
when  Liza  entered,  holding  Nana,  the  nursery 
seemed  quite  its  old  self,  very  dark,  and  you 
could  have  sworn  you  heard  its  three  wicked 
inmates  breathing  angelically  as  they  slept. 
They  were  really  doing  it  artfully  from  behind 
the  window  curtains. 


52  PETER  AND   WENDY 

Liza  was  in  a  bad  temper,  for  she  was  mixing 
the  Christmas  puddings  in  the  kitchen,  and  had 
been  drawn  away  from  them,  with  a  raisin  still 
on  her  cheek,  by  Nana's  absurd  suspicions.  She 
thought  the  best  way  of  getting  a  little  quiet 
was  to  take  Nana  to  the  nursery  for  a  moment, 
but  in  custody  of  course. 

"There,  you  suspicious  brute,"  she  said,  not 
sorry  that  Nana  was  in  disgrace.  "They  are 
perfectly  safe,  aren't  they?  Every  one  of  the 
Httle  angels  sound  asleep  in  bed.  Listen  to 
their  gentle  breathing.*' 

Here  Michael,  encouraged  by  his  success, 
breathed  so  loudly  tliat  they  were  nearly  de- 
tected. Nana  knew  that  kind  of  breathing,  and 
she  tried  to  drag  herself  out  of  Liza's  clutches. 

But  Liza  was  dense.  "No  more  of  it.  Nana," 
she  said  sternly,  pulling  her  out  of  the  room. 
*'I  warn  you  if  you  bark  again  I  shall  go  straight 
for  master  and  missus  and  bring  them  home 
from  the  party,  and  then,  oh,  won't  master  whip 
you,  just." 

She  tied  the  unhappy  dog  up  again,  but  do 
you  think  Nana  ceased  to  bark  ?  Bring  master 
and  missus  home  from  the  party!     Why,  that 


COME  AWAY,   COME  AWAY!       53 

was  just  what  she  wanted.  Do  you  think  she 
cared  whether  she  was  whipped  so  long  as  her 
charges  were  safe  ?  Unfortunately  Liza  returned 
to  her  puddings,  and  Nana,  seeing  that  no  help 
would  come  from  her,  strained  and  strained 
at  the  chain  until  at  last  she  broke  it.  In 
another  moment  she  had  burst  into  the  dining- 
room  of  27  and  flung  up  her  paws  to  heaven, 
her  most  expressive  way  of  making  a  communi- 
cation. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Darling  knew  at  once 
that  something  terrible  was  happening  in  their 
nurseiy,  and  without  a  good-bye  to  their  hostess 
they  rushed  into  the  sti-eet. 
-  But  it  was  now  ten  minutes  since  three 
scoundrels  had  been  breathing  behind  the 
curtains,  and  Peter  Pan  can  do  a  great  deal  in 
ten  minutes. 

We  now  return  to  the  nursery. 

"It 's  all  right,"  John  announced,  emerging 
from  his  hiding-place.  "I  say,  Peter,  can  you 
reaUy  fly?" 

Instead  of  troubling  to  answer  him  Peter 
flew  round  the  room,  taking  the  mantelpiece  on 
the  way. 

"How  topping!"  said  John  and  Michael. 


54  PETER  AND   WENDY 

"How  sweet!"  cried  Wendy. 

"Yes,  I  'm  sweet,  oh,  I  am  sweet!"  said  Peter, 
forgetting  his  manners  again. 

It  looked  delightfully  easy,  and  they  tried  it 
first  from  the  floor  and  then  from  the  beds,  but 
they  always  went  down  instead  of  up. 

"I  say,  how  do  you  do  it.^"  asked  John, 
rubbing  his  knee.  He  was  quite  a  practical 
boy. 

"You  just  think  lovely  wonderful  thoughts," 
Peter  explained,  "and  they  lift  you  up  in  the 
air." 

He  showed  them  again. 

"You  're  so  nippy  at  it,"  John  said,  "couldn't 
you  do  it  very  slowly  once  ? " 

Peter  did  it  both  slowly  and  quickly.  "I  've 
got  it  now,  Wendy!"  cried  John,  but  soon  he 
found  he  had  not.  Not  one  of  them  could  fly 
an  inch,  though  even  Michael  was  in  words 
of  two  syllables,  and  Peter  did  not  know  A 
from  Z. 

Of  course  Peter  had  been  trifling  with  them, 
for  no  one  can  fly  unless  the  fairy  dust  has  been 
blown  on  him.  Fortunately,  as  we  have  men- 
tioned, one  of  his  hands  was  messy  with  it,  and 


COME  AWAY,   COME   AWAY!       55 

he    blew    some    on    each    of    them,    with    the 
most  superb  results. 

"Now  just  wriggle  your  shoulders  this  way,"* 
he  said,  "and  let  go." 

They  were  all  on  their  beds,  and  gallant 
Michael  let  go  first.  He  did  not  quite  mean  to 
let  go,  but  he  did  it,  and  immediately  he  was 
borne  across  the  room. 

*'I  flewed!"  he  screamed  while  still  in  mid-air. 

John  let  go  and  met  Wendy  near  the  bathroom. 
Oh,  lovely!" 
Oh,  ripping] 
Look  at  me! 
Look  at  me! 
Look  at  me! 

They  were  not  nearly  so  elegant  as  Peter, 
they  could  not  help  kicking  a  little,  but  their 
heads  were  bobbing  against  the  ceiling,  and 
there  is  almost  nothing  so  delicious  as  that. 
Peter  gave  Wendy  a  hand  at  first,  but  had  to 
desist,  Tink  was  so  indignant. 

Up  and  down  they  went,  and  round  and 
round.     Heavenly  was  Wendy's  word. 

*'I  say,"  cried  John,  "why  shouldn't  we  all  go 
out!" 


5d  PETER  AND  WENDY 

Of  course  it  was  to  this  that  Peter  had  been 
luring  them. 

Michael  was  ready:  he  wanted  to  see  how 
long  it  took  him  to  do  a  billion  miles.  But 
Wendy  hesitated. 

"Mermaids!"  said  Peter  again. 

*'Oo!" 

"And  there  are  pirates." 

"Pirates,"  cried  John,  seizing  his  Sunday  hat, 
"let  us  go  at  once!" 

It  was  just  at  this  moment  that  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Darling  hurried  with  Nana  out  of  27. 
They  ran  into  the  middle  of  the  street  to  look 
up  at  the  nursery  window;  and,  yes,  it  was  still 
shut,  but  the  room  was  ablaze  with  light,  and 
most  heart-gripping  sight  of  all,  they  could  see 
in  shadow  on  the  curtain  three  little  figures  in 
night  attire  circling  round  and  round,  not  on 
the  floor  but  in  the  air. 

Not  three  figures,  four! 

In  a  tremble  they  opened  the  street  door.  Mr. 
Darling  would  have  rushed  upstairs,  but  Mrs. 
Darling  signed  to  him  to  go  softly.  She  even 
tried  to  make  her  heart  go  softly. 

Will  they  reach  the  nursery  in  time-f^     If  so. 


COME  AWAY,   COME  AWAY!       57 

how  delightful  for  them,  and  we  shall  all  breathe 
a  sigh  of  relief,  but  there  will  be  no  storj.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  they  are  not  in  time,  I 
solemnly  promise  that  it  will  all  come  right  in 
the  end. 

They  would  have  reached  the  nursery  in  time 
had  it  not  been  that  the  little  stars  were  watch- 
ing them.  Once  again  the  stars  blew  the 
window  open,  and  that  smallest  star  of  all 
called  out: 

"Cave,  Peter!" 

Peter  knew  that  there  was  not  a  moment  to 
lose.  "  Come,"  he  cried  imperiously,  and  soared 
out  at  once  into  the  night,  followed  by  John  and 
Michael  and  Wendy. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Darling  and  Nana  rushed  into 
the  nursery  too  late.    The  birds  were  flown. 


CHAPTER  IV 


S 


THE   FLIGHT 

lECOND    to   the   right,   and   straight  on 
till  morning." 

That,  Peter  had  told  Wendy,  was  the 
way  to  the  Neverland;  but  even  birds,  carrying 
maps  and  consulting  them  at  windy  corners, 
could  not  have  sighted  it  with  these  instruc- 
tions. Peter,  you  see,  just  said  anything  that 
came  into  his  head. 

At  first  his  companions  trusted  him  implicitly, 
and  so  great  were  the  delights  of  flying  that 
they  wasted  time  circling  round  church  spires 
or  any  other  tall  objects  on  the  way  that  took 
their  fancy. 

John  and  Michael  raced,  Michael  getting  a 
start. 

They  recalled  with  contempt  that  not  so  long 

58 


THE  FLIGHT  59 

ago  they  had  thought  themselves  fine  fellows 
for  being  able  to  fly  round  a  room. 

Not  so  long  ago.  But  how  long  ago  ?  They 
were  flying  over  the  sea  before  this  thought 
began  to  disturb  Wendy  seriously.  John 
thought  it  was  their  second  sea  and  their  third 
night. 

Sometimes  it  was  dark  and  sometimes  light, 
and  now  they  were  very  cold  and  again  too 
warm.  Did  they  really  feel  hungry  at  times, 
or  were  they  merely  pretending,  because  Peter 
had  such  a  jolly  new  way  of  feeding  them.? 
His  way  was  to  pursue  birds  who  had  food  in 
their  mouths  suitable  for  humans  and  snatch  it 
from  them;  then  the  birds  would  follow  and 
snatch  it  back;  and  they  would  all  go  chasing 
each  other  gaily  for  miles,  parting  at  last  with 
mutual  expressions  of  good-will.  But  Wendy 
noticed  with  gentle  concern  that  Peter  did  not 
seem  to  know  that  this  was  rather  an  odd  way  of 
getting  your  bread  and  butter,  nor  even  that 
there  are  other  ways. 

Certainly  they  did  not  pretend  to  be  sleepy, 
they  were  sleepy;  and  that  was  a  danger,  for 
the  moment  they  popped  off,  down  they  fell. 


60  PETER  AND   WENDY 

The  awful  thing  was  that  Peter  thought  this 
funny. 

"There  he  goes  again!"  he  would  cry  glee- 
fully, as  Michael  suddenly  dropped  like  a  stone. 

"Save  him,  save  him!"  cried  Wendy,  look- 
ing with  horror  at  the  cruel  sea  far  below. 
Eventually  Peter  would  dive  through  the  air, 
and  catch  Michael  just  before  he  could  strike 
the  sea,  and  it  was  lovely  the  way  he  did  it; 
but  he  always  waited  till  the  last  moment, 
and  you  felt  it  was  his  cleverness  that  in- 
terested him  and  not  the  saving  of  human 
life.  Also  he  was  fond  of  variety,  and  the 
sport  that  engrossed  him  one  moment  would 
suddenly  cease  to  engage  him,  so  there  was 
always  the  possibility  that  the  next  time  you 
fell  he  would  kt  you  go. 

He  could  sleep  in  the  air  without  falling,  by 
merely  lying  on  his  back  and  floating,  but  this 
was,  partly  at  least,  because  he  was  so  light 
that  if  you  got  behind  him  and  blew  he  went 
faster. 

"Do  be  more  polite  to  him,"  Wendy  whispered 
to  John,  when  they  were  playing  "Follow  my 
Leader." 


THE  FLIGHT  61 

"Then  tell  him  to  stop  showing  off,"  said 
John. 

When  playing  Follow  my  Leader,  Peter 
would  fly  close  to  the  water  and  touch  each 
shark's  tail  in  passing,  just  as  in  the  street  you 
may  run  your  finger  along  an  iron  railing. 
They  could  not  follow  him  in  iJiis  with  much 
success,  so  perhaps  it  was  rather  hke  showing 
off,  especially  as  he  kept  looking  behind  to  see 
how  many  tails  they  missed. 

"You  must  be  nice  to  him,"  Wendy  impressed 
on  her  brothers.  "What  could  we  do  if  he 
were  to  leave  us!" 

"We  could  go  back,"  Michael  said. 

"  How  could  we  ever  find  our  way  back  with- 
out him  ?  " 

"Well,  then,  we  could  go  on,"  said  John. 

"That  is  the  awful  thing,  John.  We  should 
have  to  go  on,  for  we  don't  know  how  to  stop." 

This  was  true,  Peter  had  forgotten  to  show 
them  how  to  stop. 

John  said  that  if  the  worst  came  to  the  worst, 
all  they  had  to  do  was  to  go  straight  on,  for  the 
world  was  round,  and  so  in  time  they  must  come 
back  to  their  own  window. 


62  PETER  AND  WENDY 

"And  who  is  to  get  food  for  us,  John?" 

*'I  nipped  a  bit  out  of  that  eagle's  mouth 
pretty  neatly,  Wendy." 

"After  the  twentieth  try,"  Wendy  reminded 
him.  "And  even  though  we  became  good  at 
picking  up  food,  see  how  we  bump  against 
clouds  and  things  if  he  is  not  near  to  give  us  a 
hand." 

Indeed  they  were  constantly  bumping.  They 
could  now  fly  strongly,  though  they  still  kicked 
far  too  much;  but  if  they  saw  a  cloud  in  front 
of  them,  the  more  they  tried  to  avoid  it,  the 
more  certainly  did  they  bump  into  it.  If  Nana 
had  been  with  them,  she  would  have  had  a 
bandage  round  Michael's  forehead  by  this 
time. 

Peter  was  not  with  them  for  the  moment,  and 
they  felt  rather  lonely  up  there  by  themselves. 
He  could  go  so  much  faster  than  they  that  he 
would  suddenly  shoot  out  of  sight,  to  have  some 
adventure  in  which  they  had  no  share.  He 
would  come  down  laughing  over  something 
fearfully  funny  he  had  been  saying  to  a  star, 
but  he  had  already  forgotten  what  it  was,  or  he 
would  come  up  with  mermaid  scales  still  stick- 


THE  FLIGHT  63 

ing  to  him,  and  yet  not  be  able  to  say  for  certain 
what  had  been  happening.  It  was  really  rather 
irritating  to  children  who  had  never  seen  a 
mermaid. 

"And  if  he  forgets  them  so  quickly,"  Wendy 
argued,  "how  can  we  expect  that  he  will  go  on 
remembering  us.^" 

Indeed,  sometimes  when  he  returned  he  did 
not  remember  them,  at  least  not  well.  Wendy 
was  sure  of  it.  She  saw  recognition  come  into 
his  eyes  as  he  was  about  to  pass  them  the  time 
of  day  and  go  on;  once  even  she  had  to  call 
him  by  name. 

"I'm  Wendy,"  she  said  agitatedly. 

He  was  very  sorry.  "I  say,  Wendy,"  he 
whispered  to  her,  "  always  if  you  see  me  forget- 
ting you,  just  keep  on  saying  *I  'm  Wendy,' 
and  then  I  '11  remember." 

Of  course  this  was  rather  unsatisfactory. 
However,  to  make  amends  he  showed  them 
how  to  lie  out  flat  on  a  strong  wind  that  was 
going  their  way,  and  this  was  such  a  pleasant 
change  that  they  tried  it  several  times  and 
found  they  could  sleep  thus  with  security. 
Indeed  they  would  have  slept  longer,  but  Peter 


64  PETER  AND   WENDY 

tired  quickly  of  sleeping,  and  soon  he  would 
cry  in  his  captain  voice,  "We  get  off  here."  So 
with  occasional  tiffs,  but  on  the  whole  rollicking, 
they  drew  near  the  Neverland;  for  after  many 
moons  they  did  reach  it,  and,  what  is  more,  they 
had  been  going  pretty  straight  all  the  time,  not 
perhaps  so  much  owing  to  the  guidance  of  Peter 
or  Tink  as  because  the  island  was  out  looking 
for  them.  It  is  only  thus  that  any  one  may 
sight  those  magic  shores. 

"There  it  is,"  said  Peter  calmly. 

"Where,  where.?" 

"Wliere  all  the  arrows  are  pointing." 

Indeed  a  million  golden  arrows  were  point- 
ing it  out  to  the  children,  all  directed  by 
their  friend  the  sun,  who  wanted  them  to  be 
sure  of  their  way  before  leaving  them  for  the 
night. 

Wendy  and  John  and  Michael  stood  on  tip- 
toe in  the  air  to  get  their  first  sight  of  the  island. 
Strange  to  say,  they  all  recognised  it  at  once, 
and  until  fear  fell  upon  them  they  hailed  it, 
not  as  something  long  dreamt  of  and  seen  at 
last,  but  as  a  familiar  friend  to  whom  they  were 
returning  home  for  the  holidays. 


THE  FLIGHT  65 

"John,  there's  the  lagoon!" 

"Wendy,  look  at  the  turtles  burying  their 
eggs  in  the  sand." 

"I  say,  John,  I  see  your  flamingo  with  the 
broken  leg!" 

"Look,  Michael,  there's  your  cave!" 

"John,  what's  that  in  the  brushwood?" 

"It's  a  wolf  with  her  whelps.  Wendy,  I  do 
believe  that 's  your  little  whelp ! " 

"  There  's  my  boat,  John,  with  her  sides  stove 
in!" 

"No,  it  isn't!     Why,  we  burned  your  boat." 

"That 's  her,  at  any  rate.  I  say,  John,  I  see 
the  smoke  of  the  redskin  camp!" 

"Where?  Show  me,  and  I  '11  tell  you  by 
the  way  the  smoke  curls  whether  they  are  on 
the  war-path." 

"There,  just  across  the  Mysterious  River." 

"I  see  now.  Yes,  they  are  on  the  war-path 
right  enough." 

Peter  was  a  little  annoyed  with  them  for 
knowing  so  much,  but  if  he  wanted  to  lord  it 
over  them  his  triumph  was  at  hand,  for  have 
I  not  told  you  that  anon  fear  fell  upon 
them? 


66  PETER  AND   \VENDY 

It  came  as  the  arrows  went,  leaving  the 
island  in  gloom. 

In  the  old  days  at  home  the  Neverland  had 
always  begun  to  look  a  little  dark  and  threaten- 
ing by  bedtime.  Then  unexplored  patches 
arose  in  it  and  spread,  black  shadows  moved 
about  in  them,  the  roar  of  the  beasts  of  prey 
was  quite  different  now,  and  above  all,  you  lost 
the  certainty  that  you  would  win.  You  were 
quite  glad  that  the  night-lights  were  in.  You 
even  liked  Nana  to  say  that  this  was  just  the 
mantelpiece  over  here,  and  that  the  Neverland 
was  all  make-believe. 

Of  course  the  Neverland  had  been  make- 
believe  in  those  days,  but  it  was  real  now,  and 
there  were  no  night-lights,  and  it  was  getting 
darker  every  moment,  and  where  was  Nana  ? 

They  had  been  flying  apart,  but  they  huddled 
close  to  Peter  now.  His  careless  manner  had 
gone  at  last,  his  eyes  were  sparkling,  and  a  tingle 
went  through  them  every  time  they  touched 
his  body.  They  were  now  over  the  fearsome 
island,  flying  so  low  that  sometimes  a  tree 
grazed  their  feet.  Nothing  horrid  was  visible 
in  the  air,  yet  their  progress  had  become  slow 


THE  FLIGHT  67 

and  laboured,  exactly  as  if  they  were  pushing 
their  way  through  hostile  forces.  Sometimes 
they  hung  in  the  air  until  Peter  had  beaten  on 
it  with  his  fists. 

"They  don't  want  us  to  land,"  he  explained. 

*'Who  are  they  .'^"  Wendy  whispered,  shudder- 
ing. 

But  he  could  not  or  would  not  say.  Tinker 
Bell  had  been  asleep  on  his  shoulder,  but  now 
he  wakened  her  and  sent  her  on  in  front. 

Sometimes  he  poised  himself  in  the  air, 
listening  intently,  with  his  hand  to  his  ear,  and 
again  he  would  stare  down  with  eyes  so  bright 
that  they  seemed  to  bore  two  holes  to  earth. 
Having  done  these  things,  he  went  on  again. 

His  courage  was  almost  appalling.  "Would 
you  like  an  adventure  now,"  he  said  casually  to 
John,  "or  would  you  like  to  have  your  tea 
first.?" 

Wendy  said  "tea  first"  quickly,  and  Michael 
pressed  her  hand  in  gratitude,  but  the  braver 
John  hesitated. 

"What  kind  of  adventure.?"  he  asked 
cautiously. 

"There's  a  pirate  asleep  in  the  pampas  just 


68  PETER  AND   WENDY 

beneath  us,"  Peter  told  him.  "If  you  likej 
we'll  go  down  and  kill  him." 

"I  don't  see  him,"  John  said  after  a  long 
pause. 

"I  do." 

"Suppose,"  John  said,  a  little  Jbiuskily,  "he 
were  to  wake  up." 

Peter  spoke  indignantly.  "You  don't  think 
I  would  kill  him  while  he  was  sleeping!  I 
would  wake  him  first,  and  then  kill  him. 
That's  the  way  I  always  do." 

"I  say!     Do  you  kill  many.''" 

"Tons."  / 

John  said  "how  ripping,"  but  decided  to  have 
tea  first.  He  asked  if  there  were  many  pirates 
on  the  island  just  now,  and  Peter  said  he  had 
never  known  so  many. 

"Who  is  captain  now.^" 

"Hook,"  answered  Peter,  and  his  face  became 
very  stern  as  he  said  that  hated  word. 

"Jas.  Hook.?" 

"Ay." 

Then  indeed  Michael  began  to  cry,  and  even 
John  could  speak  in  gulps  only,  for  they  knew 
Hook's  reputation. 


THE   FLIGHT  69 

"He  was  Blackbeard's  bo'sun,"  John  whispered 
huskily.  "He  is  the  worst  of  them  all.  He 
is  the  only  man  of  whom  Barbecue  was 
afraid." 

"That's  him,"  said  Peter. 

"What  is  he  like.?     Is  he  big.?" 

"He  is  not  so  big  as  he  was." 

"How  do  you  mean.?" 

"I  cut  off  a  bit  of  him." 

"You!" 

"Yes,  me,"  said  Peter  sharply. 

"I  wasn't  meaning  to  be  disrespectful." 

"Oh,  all  right." 

"But,  I  say,  what  bit.?" 

"His  right  hand." 

"Then  he  can't  fight  now.?" 

"Oh,  can't  he  just!" 

"Left-hander.?" 

"He  has  an  iron  hook  instead  of  a  right  hand, 
and  he  claws  with  it." 

"Claws!" 

"I  say,  John,"  said  Peter. 

"Yes." 

"Say,  'Ay,  ay,  sir.'" 

"Ay,  ay,  sir." 


70  PETER  AND   WENDY 

"There  is  one  thing,"  Peter  continued,  "that 
every  boy  who  serves  under  me  has  to  promise, 
and  so  must  you." 

John  paled. 

"It  is  this,  if  we  meet  Hook  in  open  fight, 
you  must  leave  him  to  me." 

"I  promise,"  John  said  loyally. 

For  the  moment  they  were  feeling  less  eerie, 
because  Tink  was  flying  with  them,  and  in  her 
light  they  could  distinguish  each  other.  Un- 
fortunately she  could  not  fly  so  slowly  as  they, 
and  so  she  had  to  go  round  and  round  them  in 
a  circle  in  which  they  moved  as  in  a  halo. 
Wendy  quite  liked  it,  until  Peter  pointed  out 
the  drawback. 

"She  tells  me,"  he  said,  "that  the  pirates 
sighted  us  before  the  darkness  came,  and  got 
Long  Tom  out." 

"  The  big  gun  ?  " 

"Yes.  And  of  course  they  must  see  her 
light,  and  if  they  guess  we  are  near  it  they  are 
sure  to  let  fly." 

"Wendy!" 

"John!" 
Michael!" 


THE   FLIGHT  71 

"Tell  her  to  go  away  at  once,  Peter,"  the 
three  cried  simultaneously,  but  he  refused. 

"She  thinks  we  have  lost  the  way,"  he  replied 
stiffly,  "and  she  is  rather  frightened.  You 
don't  think  I  would  send  her  away  all  by 
herself  when  she  is  frightened!" 

For  a  moment  the  circle  of  light  was  broken, 
and  something  gave  Peter  a  loving  little  pinch. 

"Then  tell  her,"  Wendy  begged,  "to  put  out 
her  light." 

"  She  can't  put  it  out.  That  is  about  the  only 
thing  fairies  can't  do.  It  just  goes  out  of 
itself  when  she  falls  asleep,  same  as  the  stars." 

"Then  tell  her  to  sleep  at  once,"  John  almost 
ordered. 

"She  can't  sleep  except  when  she's  sleepy. 
It's  the  only  other  thing  fairies  can't  do." 

"Seems  to  me,"  growled  John,  "these  are  the 
only  two  things  worth  doing." 

Here  he  got  a  pinch,  but  not  a  loving  one. 

**If  only  one  of  us  had  a  pocket,"  Peter  said, 
"we  could  carry  her  in  it."  However,  they  had 
set  off  in  such  a  hurry  that  there  was  not  a 
pocket  between  the  four  of  them. 

He  had  a  happy  idea.     John's  hat! 


72  PETER  AND  WENDY 

Tink  agreed  to  travel  by  hat  if  it  was  carried 
in  the  hand.  John  carried  it,  though  she 
had  hoped  to  be  carried  by  Peter.  Presently 
Wendy  took  the  hat,  because  John  said  it 
struck  against  his  knee  as  he  flew;  and  this,  as 
we  shall  see,  led  to  mischief,  for  Tinker  Bell 
hated  to  be  under  an  obligation  to  Wendj*- 

In  the  black  topper  the  light  was  completely 
hidden,  and  they  flew  on  in  silence.  It  was 
the  stillest  silence  they  had  ever  known,  broken 
once  by  a  distant  lapping,  which  Peter  explained 
was  the  wild  beasts  drinking  at  the  ford,  and 
again  by  a  rasping  sound  that  might  have  been 
the  branches  of  trees  rubbing  together,  but  he 
said  it  was  the  redskins  sharpening  their  knives. 

Even  these  noises  ceased.  To  Michael  the 
loneliness  was  dreadful.  "If  only  something 
would  make  a  sound!"  he  cried. 

As  if  in  answer  to  his  request,  the  air  was 
rent  by  the  most  tremendous  crash  he  had  ever 
heard.  The  pirates  had  fired  Long  Tom  a' 
them. 

The  roar  of  it  echoed  through  the  mountains, 
and  the  echoes  seemed  to  cry  savagely,  "Where 
are  they,  where  are  they,  where  are  they  ?  " 


THE   FLIGHT  73 

Thus  sharply  did  the  terrified  three  learn  the 
difference  between  an  island  of  make-believe  and 
the  same  island  come  true. 

Wlien  at  last  the  heavens  were  steady  again, 
John  and  Michael  found  themselves  alone  in 
the  darkness.  John  was  ti'eading  the  air 
mechanically,  and  Michael  without  knowing 
how  to  float  was  floating. 

"Are  you  shot?"  John  whispered  tremulously. 

"I  haven't  tried  yet,"  Michael  whispered 
back. 

We  know  now  that  no  one  had  been  hit. 
Peter,  however,  had  been  carried  by  the  wind 
df  the  shot  far  out  to  sea,  while  Wendy  was 
blown  upwards  with  no  companion  but  Tinker 
Bell. 

It  would  have  been  well  for  Wendy  if  at  that 
moment  she  had  dropped  the  hat. 

I  don't  know  whether  the  idea  came  suddenly 
to  Tink,  or  whether  she  had  planned  it  on  the 
way,  but  she  at  once  popped  out  of  the  hat  and 
began  to  lure  Wendy  to  her  destruction. 

Tink  was  not  all  bad:  or,  rather,  she  was  all 
bad  just  now,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  sometimes 
she  was  all  good.     Fairies  have  to  be  one  thing 


74  PETER  AND   WENDY 

or  the  other,  because  being  so  small  they  un- 
fortunately have  room  for  one  feeling  only  at 
a  time.  They  are,  however,  allowed  to  change, 
only  it  must  be  a  complete  change.  At  present 
she  was  full  of  jealousy  of  Wendy.  What  she 
said  in  her  lovely  tinkle  Wendy  could  not  of 
course  understand,  and  I  believe  some  of  it  was 
bad  words,  but  it  sounded  kind,  and  she  flew 
back  and  forward,  plainly  meaning  "Follow  me, 
and  all  will  be  well." 

What  else  could  poor  Wendy  do.?  She 
called  to  Peter  and  John  and  Michael,  and 
got  only  mocking  echoes  in  reply.  She  did 
not  yet  know  that  Tink  hated  her  with  the 
fierce  hatred  of  a  very  woman.  And  so,  be- 
wildered, and  now  staggering  in  her  flight,  she 
followed  Tink  to  her  doom. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  ISLAND  COME  TRUE 

FEELING  that  Peter  was  on  his  way- 
back,  the  Neverland  had  again  woke 
into  life.  We  ought  to  use  the  pluper- 
fect and  say  wakened,  but  woke  is  better  and 
was  always  used  by  Peter. 

In  his  absence  things  are  usually  quiet  on  the 
island.  The  fairies  take  an  hour  longer  in  the 
morning,  the  beasts  attend  to  their  young,  the 
redskins  feed  heavily  for  six  days  and  nights, 
and  when  pirates  and  lost  boys  meet  they  merely 
bite  their  thumbs  at  each  other.  But  with  the 
coming  of  Peter,  who  hates  lethargy,  they  are 
all  under  way  again:  if  you  put  your  ear  to  the 
ground  now,  you  would  hear  the  whole  island 
seething  with  life. 

On  this  evening  the  chief  forces  of  the  island 

75 


76  PETER  AND   WENDY 

were  disposed  as  follows.  The  lost  boys  were 
out  looking  for  Peter,  the  pirates  were  out  look- 
ing for  the  lost  boys,  the  redskins  were  out 
looking  for  the  pirates,  and  the  beasts  were  out 
looking  for  the  redskins.  They  were  going 
round  and  round  the  island,  but  they  did  not 
meet  because  all  were  going  at  the  same  rate. 

All  wanted  blood  except  the  boys,  who  liked 
it  as  a  rule,  but  to-night  were  out  to  greet  their 
captain.  The  boys  on  the  island  vary,  of  course, 
in  numbers,  according  as  they  get  killed  and  so 
on;  and  when  they  seem  to  be  growing  up, 
which  is  against  the  rules,  Peter  thins  them  out; 
but  at  this  time  there  were  six  of  them,  count- 
ing the  twins  as  two.  Let  us  pretend  to  lie  here 
among  the  sugar-cane  and  watch  them  as  they 
steal  by  in  single  file,  each  with  his  hand  on  his 
dagger. 

They  are  forbidden  by  Peter  to  look  in  the 
least  like  him,  and  they  wear  the  skins  of  bears 
slain  by  themselves,  in  which  they  are  so  round 
and  furry  that  when  they  fall  they  roll.  They 
have  therefore  become  very  sure-footed. 

The  first  to  pass  is  Tootles,  not  the  least 
brave   but   the   most   unfortunate   of   all    that 


THE  ISLAND   COME  TRUE        77 

gallant  band.  He  had  been  in  fewer  adven- 
tures than  any  of  them,  because  the  big  things 
constantly  happened  just  when  he  had  stepped 
round  the  comer;  all  would  be  quiet,  he  would 
take  the  opportunity  of  going  off  to  gather  a 
few  sticks  for  firewood,  and  then  when  he 
returned  the  others  would  be  sweeping  up  the 
blood.  This  ill-luck  had  given  a  gentle  melan- 
choly to  his  countenance,  but  instead  of  souring 
his  nature  had  sweetened  it,  so  that  he  was 
quite  the  humblest  of  the  boys.  Poor  kind 
Tootles,  there  is  danger  in  the  air  for  you 
to-uight.  Take  care  lest  an  adventure  is  now 
offered  you,  w^hich,  if  accepted,  will  plunge  you 
in  deepest  woe.  Tootles,  the  fairy  Tink  who  is 
bent  on  mischief  this  night  is  looking  for  a  tool, 
and  she  thinks  you  the  most  easily  tricked  of 
the  boys.     'Ware  Tinker  Bell. 

Would  that  he  could  hear  us,  but  we  are  not 
really  on  the  island,  and  he  passes  by,  biting  his 
knuckles. 

Next  comes  Nibs,  the  gay  and  debonair, 
followed  by  Slightly,  who  cuts  whistles  out 
of  the  trees  and  dances  ecstatically  to  his  own 
tunes.     Slightly   is   the  most  conceited   of  the 


78  PETER  AND   WENDY 

boys.  He  thinks  he  remembers  the  days  before 
he  was  lost,  with  their  manners  and  customs, 
and  this  has  given  his  nose  an  offensive  tilt. 
Curly  is  fourth;  he  is  a  pickle,  and  so  often 
has  he  had  to  deliver  up  his  person  when  Peter 
said  sternly,  "Stand  forth  the  one  who  did  this 
thing,"  that  now  at  the  command  he  stands 
forth  automatically  whether  he  has  done  it  or 
no.  Last  come  the  Twins,  who  cannot  be 
described  because  we  should  be  sure  to  be 
describing  the  wrong  one.  Peter  never  quite 
knew  what  twins  were,  and  his  band  were  not 
allowed  to  know  anything  he  did  not  know, 
so  these  two  were  always  vague  about  them- 
selves, and  did  their  best  to  give  satisfaction 
by  keeping  close  together  in  an  apologetic  sort 
of  way. 

The  boys  vanish  in  the  gloom,  and  after  a 
pause,  but  not  a  long  pause,  for  things  go 
briskly  on  the  island,  come  the  pirates  on 
their  track.  We  hear  them  before  they  are 
seen,  and  it  is  always  the  same  dreadful  song: 

"  Avast  belay,  yo  ho,  heave  to, 
A-pirating  we  go. 
And  if  we're  parted  by  a  shot 
We're  sure  to  meet  below'" 


THE  ISLAND   COME  TRUE        79 

A  more  villainous-looking  lot  never  hung  in 
a  row  on  Execution  dock.  Here,  a  little  in 
advance,  ever  and  again  with  his  head  to  the 
ground  listening,  his  great  arms  bare,  pieces  of 
eight  in  his  ears  as  ornaments,  is  the  handsome 
Italian  Cecco,  who  cut  his  name  in  letters  of 
blood  on  the  back  of  the  governor  of  the  prison 
at  Gao.  That  gigantic  black  behind  him  has 
had  many  names  since  he  dropped  the  one  with 
which  dusky  mothers  still  terrify  their  children 
on  the  banks  of  the  Guadjo-mo.  Here  is  Bill 
Jukes,  every  inch  of  him  tattooed,  the  same  Bill 
Jukes  who  got  six  dozen  on  the  Walrus  from 
Flint  before  he  would  drop  the  bag  of  moidores; 
and  Cookson,  said  to  be  Black  Murphy's  brother 
(but  this  was  never  proved),  and  Gentleman 
Starkey,  once  an  usher  in  a  public  school  and 
still  dainty  in  his  ways  of  killing;  and  Skylights 
(Morgan's  Skylights) ;  and  the  Irish  bo' sun  Smee, 
an  oddly  genial  man  who  stabbed,  so  to  speak, 
without  offence,  and  was  the  only  Nonconformist 
in  Hook's  crew;  and  Noodler,  whose  hands 
were  fixed  on  back\vards;  and  Robt.  Mullins 
and  Alf  Mason  and  many  another  ruffian  long 
known  and  feared  on  the  Spanish  Main. 


80  PETER  AND  WENDY 

/in  the  midst  of  them,  the  blackest  and  largest 
jewel  in  that  dark  setting,  reclined  James  Hook, 
or  as  he  wrote  himself,  Jas.  Hook,  of  whom  it  is 
said  he  was  the  only  man  that  the  Sea- Cook 
feared.  He  lay  at  his  ease  in  a  rough  chariot 
drawn  and  propelled  by  his  men,  and  instead  of 
a  right  hand  he  had  the  iron  hook  with  which 
ever  and  anon  he  encouraged  them  to  increase 
their  pace.  As  dogs  this  ten-ible  man  treated  and 
addressed  them,  and  as  dogs  they  obeyed  him.  > 
In  person  he  was  cadaverous  and  blackavized>/ 
-and' his  hair  was  dressed  in  long  curls,  which  at 
a  little  distance  looked  like  black  candles,  and 
gave  a  singularly  threatening  expression  to  his 
handsome  countenance.  His  eyes  were  of  tlie 
blue  of  the  forget-me-not,  and  of  a  profound 
melancholy,  save  when  he  was  plunging  his  hook 
into  you,  at  which  time  two  red  spots  appeared 
in  them  and  lit  them  up  horribly./  In  manner, 
something  of  the  grand  seigneur  still  clung  to 
him,  so  that  he  even  ripped  you  up  with  an  air, 
and  I  have  been  told  that  he  was  a  raconteur  of 
repute,  /H.e  was  never  more  sinister  than  when 
he  was  most  polite,  which  is  probably  the  truest 
test  of  breeding;  and  the  elegance  of  his  dictioUj 


THE  ISLAND   COME   TRUE        81 

even  when  he  was  swearing,  no  less  than  the 
distinction  of  his  demeanour,  showed  him  one 
of  a  different  caste  from  his  crew.  A  man  of 
indomitable  courage,  it  was  said  of  him  that  the 
only  thing  he  shied  at  was  the  sight  of  his  own 
blood,  which  was  thick  and  of  an  unusual  colour. 
In  dress  he  somewhat  aped  the  attire  associated 
with  the  name  of  Charles  ii.,  having  heard  it 
said  in  some  earlier  period  of  his  career  that 
he  bore  a  strange  resemblpuce  to  the  ill-fated 
Stuarts;  and  in  his  mouth  he  had  a  holder  of  his 
own  contrivance  which  enabled  him  to  smoke 
two  cigars  at  once.  But  undoubtedly  the  grim- 
mest part  of  him  was  his  iron  clawj 

Let  us  now  kill  a  pirate,  to  show  Hook's 
method.  Skylights  will  do.  As  they  pass, 
Skylights  lurches  clumsily  against  him,  ruffling 
his  lace  collar;  the  hook  shoots  forth,  there  is 
a  tearing  sound  and  one  screech,  then  the  body 
is  kicked  aside,  and  the  pirates  pass  on.  He 
has  not  even  taken  the  cigars  from  his  mouth. 

Such  is  the  terrible  man  against  whom  Peter 
Pan  is  pitted.     Which  will  win  ? 

On  the  trail  of  the  pirates,  stealing  noiselessly 
down  the  war-path,  which  is  not  visible  to  inex= 


82  PETER  AND  WENDY 

perienced  eyes,  come  the  redskins,  every  one  of 
them  with  his  eyes  peeled.  They  cany  toma- 
hawks and  knives,  and  their  naked  bodies 
gleam  with  paint  and  oil.  Strung  around  them 
are  scalps,  of  boys  as  well  as  of  pirates,  for  these 
are  the  Piccaninny  tribe,  and  not  to  be  con- 
fused with  the  softer-hearted  Delawares  or  the 
Hurons.  In  the  van,  on  all  fours,  is  Great  Big 
Little  Panther,  a  brave  of  so  many  scalps  that 
in  his  present  position  they  somewhat  impede 
his  progress.  Bringing  up  the  rear,  the  place 
of  greatest  danger,  comes  Tiger  Lily,  proudly 
erect,  a  princess  in  her  own  right.  /She  is  the 
most  beautiful  of  dusky  Dianas  and  the  belle 
of  the  Piccaninnies,  coquettish,  cold  and  amorous 
by  turns;  there  is  not  a  brave  who  would  not 
have  the  wayward  thing  to  wife,  but  she  staves 
off  the  altar  with  a  hatchet./  Observe  how  they 
pass  over  fallen  twigs  without  making  the 
slightest  noise.  The  only  sound  to  be  heard 
is  their  somewhat  heavy  breathing.  The  fact 
is  that  they  are  all  a  little  fat  just  now  after 
the  heavy  gorging,  but  in  time  they  will  work 
this  off.  For  the  moment,  however,  it  con- 
stitutes their  chief  danger. 


THE  ISLAND   COME  TRUE        83 

The  redskins  disappear  as  they  have  come 
like  shadows,  and  soon  their  place  is  taken  by 
the  beasts,  a  great  and  motley  procession :  lionS; 
tigers,  bears,  and  the  innumerable  smaller  savage 
things  that  flee  from  them,  for  every  kind  of 
beast,  and,  more  particularly,  all  the  man-eaters, 
live  cheek  by  jowl  on  the  favoured  island. 
Their  tongues  are  hanging  out,  they  are  hungry 
to-night. 

When  they  have  passed,  comes  the  last  figure 
of  all,  a  gigantic  crocodile.  We  shall  see  for 
whom  she  is  looking  presently. 

The  crocodile  passes,  but  soon  the  boys  appear 
again,  for  the  procession  must  continue  indefi- 
nitely until  one  of  the  parties  stops  or  changes 
its  pace.  Then  quickly  they  will  be  on  top  of 
each  other. 

All  are  keeping  a  sharp  look-out  in  front,  but 
none  suspects  that  the  danger  may  be  creeping 
up  from  behind.  This  shows  how  real  the 
island  was. 

The  first  to  fall  out  of  the  moving  circle  was 
the  boys.  They  flung  themselves  down  on  the 
sward,  close  to  their  underground  home. 

*'I  do  wish  Peter  would  come  back,"  every  one 


84  PETER  AND   WENDY 

of  them  said  nervously,  though  in  height  and 
still  more  in  breadth  they  were  all  larger  than 
their  captain. 

*'I  am  the  only  one  who  is  not  afraid  of  the 
pirates,"  Slightly  said,  in  the  tone  that  prevented 
his  being  a  general  favourite,  but  perhaps  some 
distant  sound  disturbed  him,  for  he  added 
hastily,  *'but  I  wish  he  would  come  back,  and 
tell  us  whether  he  has  heard  anything  more 
about  Cinderella." 

They  talked  of  Cinderella,  and  Tootles  was 
confident  that  his  mother  must  have  been  very 
like  her. 

It  was  only  in  Peter's  absence  that  they  could 
speak  of  mothers,  the  subject  being  forbidden 
by  him  as  silly. 

"All  I  remember  about  my  mother,"  Nibs  told 
them,  *'is  that  she  often  said  to  father,  *Oh,  how 
I  wish  I  had  a  cheque-book  of  my  own!'  I 
don't  know  what  a  cheque-book  is,  but  I  should 
just  love  to  give  my  mother  one." 

While  they  talked  they  heard  a  distant  sound. 
You  or  I,  not  being  wild  things  of  the  woods, 
would  have  heard  nothing,  but  they  heard  it, 
and  it  was  the  grim  song: 


THE  ISLAND   COME  TRUE         85 

"Yo  ho,  yo  ho,  the  pirate  life. 
The  flag  o'  akull  and  bones, 
A  merry  hour,  a  hempen  rope. 
And  hey  for  Davy  Jones." 

At  once  the  lost  boys — but  where  are  they? 
They  are  no  longer  there.  Rabbits  could  not 
have  disappeared  more  quickly. 

I  will  tell  you  where  they  are.  With  the 
exception  of  Nibs,  who  has  darted  away  to 
reconnoitre,  they  ai'e  already  in  their  home 
under  the  ground,  a  very  delightful  residence 
of  which  we  shall  see  a  good  deal  presently. 
But  how  have  they  reached  it.^  for  there  is  no 
enti'ance  to  be  seen,  not  so  much  as  a  large 
stone,  which  if  rolled  away  would  disclose  the 
mouth  of  a  cave.  Look  closely,  however,  and 
you  may  note  tliat  there  are  here  seven  large 
trees,  each  with  a  hole  in  its  hollow  trunk  as 
large  as  a  boy.  These  are  the  seven  entrances 
to  the  home  under  the  ground,  for  which  Hook 
has  been  searching  in  vain  these  many  moons. 
Will  he  find  it  to-night  ? 

As  the  pirates  advanced,  the  quick  eye  of 
Starkey  sighted  Nibs  disappearing  through  the 
wood,  and  at  once  his  pistol  flashed  out.  But 
an  iron  claw  gripped  his  shoulder'- 


86  PETER  AND   WENDY 

*' Captain,  let  go!"  he  cried,  writhing. 

Now  for  the  first  time  we  hear  the  voice  of 
Hook.  It  was  a  black  voice.  *'Put  back  that 
pistol  first,"  it  said  threateningly. 

"It  was  one  of  those  boys  you  hate.  I  could 
have  shot  him  dead." 

"Ay,  and  the  sound  would  have  brought 
Tiger  Lily's  redskins  upon  us.  Do  you  want 
to  lose  your  scalp  ?  " 

"Shall  I  after  him,  captain,"  asked  pathetic 
Smee,  "and  tickle  him  with  Johnny  Cork- 
screw ? "  Smee  had  pleasant  names  for  every- 
thing, and  his  cutlass  was  Johnny  Corkscrew, 
because  he  wriggled  it  in  the  wound.  One 
could  mention  many  lovable  traits  in  Smee. 
For  instance,  after  killing,  it  was  his  spectacles 
he  wiped  instead  of  his  weapon. 

"  Johnny's  a  silent  fellow,"  he  reminded  Hook. 

"Not  now,  Smee,"  Hook  said  darkly.  "He  is 
only  one,  and  I  want  to  mischief  all  the  seven. 
Scatter  and  look  for  them." 

The  pirates  disappeared  among  the  trees,  and 
in  a  moment  their  captain  and  Smee  were  alone. 
Hook  heaved  a  heavy  sigh,  and  I  know  not 
why  it  was,  perhaps  it  was  because  of  the  soft 


THE  ISLAND   COME  TRUE         87 

beauty  of  the  evening,  but  there  came  over  him 
a  desire  to  confide  to  his  faithful  bo'sun  the 
story  of  his  hfe.  He  spoke  long  and  earnestly, 
but  what  it  was  all  about  Smee,  who  was  rather 
stupid,  did  not  know  in  the  least. 

Anon  he  caught  the  word  Peter. 

"Most  of  all,"  Hook  was  saying  passionately, 
"I  want  their  captain,  Peter  Pan.  'Twas  he 
cut  off  my  arm."  He  brandished  the  hook 
threateningly.  "I've  waited  long  to  shake  his 
hand  with  this.     Oh,  I'll  tear  him!" 

"And  yet,"  said  Smee,  "I  have  often  heard 
you  say  that  hook  was  worth  a  score  of  hands, 
for  combing  the  hair  and  other  homely  uses." 

"Ay,"  the  captain  answered,  "if  I  was  a 
mother  I  would  pray  to  have  my  children  born 
with  this  instead  of  that,"  and  he  cast  a  look  of 
pride  upon  his  iron  hand  and  one  of  scorn  upon 
the  other.     Then  again  he  frowned. 

"Peter  flung  my  arm,"  he  said,  wincing,  "to  a 
crocodile  that  happened  to  be  passing  by." 

"I  have  often,"  said  Smee,  "noticed  your 
strange  dread  of  crocodiles." 

"  Not  of  crocodiles,"  Hook  corrected  him,  "  but 
of  that  one  crocodile."     He  lowered  his  voice. 


88  PETER  AND   WENDY 

"It  liked  my  arm  so  much,  Smee,  that  it  has 
followed  me  ever  since,  from  sea  to  sea  and  from 
land  to  land,  licking  its  lips  for  the  rest  of  me." 

"In  a  way,"  said  Smee,  "it's  a  sort  of  com- 
pliment." 

"I  want  no  such  compliments,"  Hook  barked 
petulantly.  "I  want  Peter  Pan,  who  first  gave 
the  brute  its  taste  for  me." 

He  sat  down  on  a  large  mushroom,  and  now 
there  was  a  quiver  in  his  voice.  "Smee,"  he 
said  huskily,  "  that  crocodile  would  have  had  me 
before  this,  but  by  a  luclcy  chance  it  swallowed 
a  clock  which  goes  tick  tick  inside  it,  and  so 
before  it  can  reach  me  I  hear  the  tick  and  bolt." 
He  laughed,  but  in  a  hollow  way. 

"Some  day,"  said  Smee,  "the  clock  will  run 
down,  and  then  he  '11  get  you." 

Hook  wetted  his  dry  lips.  "Ay,"  he  said, 
"  that's  the  fear  that  haunts  me." 

Since  sitting  down  he  had  felt  curiously 
warm.  "  Smee,"  he  said,  "  this  seat  is  hot."  He 
jumped  up.  "Odds  bobs,  hammer  and  tongs, 
I'm  burning." 

They  examined  the  mushroom,  which  was  of 
a  size  and  solidity  unknown  on  the  mainland; 


THE  ISLAND   COME   TRUE         89 

they  tried  to  pull  it  up,  and  it  came  away  at 
once  in  their  hands,  for  it  had  no  root.  Stranger 
still,  smoke  began  at  once  to  ascend.  The 
pirates  looked  at  each  other.  "A  chimney!" 
they  both  exclaimed. 

They  had  indeed  discovered  the  chimney  of 
the  home  under  the  ground.  It  was  the 
custom  of  the  boys  to  stop  it  with  a  mush- 
room when  enemies  were  in  the  neighbour- 
hood. 

Not  only  smoke  came  out  of  it.  There  came 
also  children's  voices,  for  so  safe  did  the  boys 
feel  in  their  hiding-place  that  they  were  gaily 
chattering.  The  pirates  listened  grimly,  and 
then  replaced  the  mushroom.  They  looked 
around  them  and  noted  the  holes  in  the  seven 
trees. 

"Did  you  hear  them  say  Peter  Pan  *s  from 
home?"  Smee  whispered,  fidgeting  with 
Johnny  Corkscrew. 

Hook  nodded.  He  stood  for  a  long  time 
lost  in  thought,  and  at  last  a  curdling  smile 
lit  up  hii  swarthy  face.  Smee  had  been  waiting 
for  it.  "Unrip  your  plan,  captain,"  he  cried 
eagerly. 


00  PETER  AND   WENDY 

"To  return  to  the  ship,"  Hook  replied  slowly 
through  his  teeth,  "and  cook  a  large  rich  cake 
of  a  jolly  thickness  with  green  sugar  on  it. 
There  can  be  but  one  room  below,  for  there 
is  but  one  chimney.  The  silly  moles  had  not 
the  sense  to  see  that  they  did  not  need  a 
door  apiece.  That  shows  they  have  no  mother. 
We  will  leave  the  cake  on  the  shore  of  the 
mermaids'  lagoon.  These  boys  are  always 
swimming  about  there,  playing  with  the 
mermaids.  They  will  find  the  cake  and  they 
will  gobble  it  up,  because,  having  no  mother, 
they  don't  know  how  dangerous  'tis  to  eat 
rich  damp  cake."  He  burst  into  laughter,  not 
hollow  laughter  now,  but  honest  laughter. 
"Aha,  they  will  die!" 

Smee  had  listened  with  growing  admiration. 

"It's  the  wickedest,  prettiest  policy  ever  I 
heard  of!"  he  cried,  and  in  their  exultation  they 
danced  and  sang: 

"Avast,  belay,  when  I  appear. 
By  fear  they're  overtook; 
Nought  's  left  upon  your  bones  v^hen  you 
Have  shaken  claws  with  Cook." 

They  began  the  verse,  but  they  never  finished 


THE  ISLAND   COME  TRUE         91 

it,  for  another  sound  broke  in  and  stilled  them. 
It  was  at  first  such  a  tiny  sound  that  a  leaf 
might  have  fallen  on  it  and  smothered  it,  but  as 
it  came  nearer  it  was  more  distinct. 

Tick  tick  tick  tick! 

Hook  stood  shuddering,  one  foot  in  the  air„ 

"The  crocodile!"  he  gasped,  and  bounded 
away,  followed  by  his  bo' sun. 

It  was  indeed  the  crocodile.  It  had  passed 
the  redskins,  who  were  now  on  the  trail  of  the 
other  pirates.     It  oozed  on  after  Hook. 

Once  more  the  boys  emerged  into  the  open; 
but  the  dangers  of  the  night  were  not  yet  over, 
for  presently  Nibs  rushed  breathless  into  their 
midst,  pursued  by  a  pack  of  wolves.  The 
tongues  of  the  pursuers  were  hanging  out;  the 
baying  of  them  was  horrible. 

"Save  me,  save  me!"  cried  Nibs,  falling  on 
the  ground. 

"But  what  can  we  do,  what  can  we  do  .^" 

It  was  a  high  compliment  to  Peter  that  at 
that  dire  moment  their  thoughts  turned  to 
him. 

"What  would  Peter  do.^"  they  cried  simul- 
taneously. 


n  PETER  AND   WENDY 

Almost  in  the  same  breath  they  cried,  "Peter 
would  look  at  them  through  his  legs." 

And  then,  "Let  us  do  what  Peter  would 
do." 

It  is  quite  the  most  successful  way  of  defying 
wolves,  and  as  one  boy  they  bent  and  looked 
through  their  legs.  The  next  moment  is  the 
long  one,  but  victory  came  quickly,  for  as  the 
boys  advanced  upon  them  in  this  terrible  atti- 
tude, the  wolves  dropped  their  tails  and  fled. 

Now  Nibs  rose  from  the  ground,  and  the 
others  thought  that  his  staring  eyes  still  saw 
the  wolves.     But  it  was  not  wolves  he  saw. 

"I  have  seen  a  wonderfuller  thing,"  he  cried, 
as  they  gathered  round  him  eagerly.  "A  great 
white  bird.     It  is  flying  this  way." 

"What  kind  of  a  bird,  do  you  think .^" 

"I  don't  know,"  Nibs  said,  awestruck,  "but  it 
looks  so  weary,  and  as  it  flies  it  moans,  'Poor 
Wendy.'  " 

"Poor  Wendy?" 

"I  remember,"  said  Slightly  instantly,  "there 
are  birds  called  Wendies." 

"See,  it  comes!"  cried  Curly,  pointing  to 
Wendy  in  the  heavens. 


THE  ISLAND   COME  TRUE         93 

Wendjr  was  now  almost  overhead,  and  they 
could  hear  her  plaintive  cry.  But  more  dis- 
tinct came  the  shrill  voice  of  Tinker  Bell.  The 
jealous  fairy  had  now  cast  off  all  disguise  of 
friendship,  and  was  darting  at  her  victim  from 
every  direction,  pinching  savagely  each  time 
she  touched. 

"Hullo,  Tink,"  cried  the  wondering  boys. 

Tink's  reply  rang  out:  "Peter  wants  you  to 
shoot  the  Wendy." 

It  was  not  in  their  nature  to  question  when 
Peter  ordered.  "Let  us  do  what  Peter  wishes," 
cried  the  simple  boys.  "Quick,  bows  and 
arrows." 

All   but   Tootles   popped    down    their   trees. 
He  had  a  bow  and  arrow  with  him,  and  Tink 
noted  it,  and  rubbed  her  little  hands. 
"Quick,  Tootles,  quick,"  she  screamed.    "Peter 
will  be  so  pleased." 

Tootles  excitedly  fitted  the  arrow  to  his  bow. 
"Out  of  the  way,  Tink,"  he  shouted,  and  then  he 
fired,  and  Wendy  fluttered  to  the  ground  with 
an  arrow  in  her  breast. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE    LITTLE    HOUSE 

FOOLISH  Tootles  was  standing  like  a 
conqueror  over  Wendy's  body  when 
the  other  boys  sprang,  armed,  from 
their  trees. 

*' You  are  too  late,"  he  cried  proudly,  *'I  have 
shot  the  Wendy.  Peter  will  be  so  pleased  with 
me." 

Overhead  Tinker  Bell  shouted  "Silly  ass!" 
and  darted  into  hiding.  The  others  did  not 
hear  her.  They  had  crowded  round  Wendy, 
and  as  they  looked  a  terrible  silence  fell  upon 
the  wood.  If  Wendy's  heart  had  been  beating 
they  would  all  have  heard  it. 

Slightly  was  the  j&rst  to  speak.  "This  is  no 
bird,"  he  said  in  a  scared  voice.  "I  think  it 
must  be  a  lady." 

"A  lady.'^"  said  Tootles,  and  fell  a-trembling. 

94 


THE   LITTLE  HOUSE  95 

"And  we  have  killed  her,"  Nibs  said  hoarsely. 

They  all  whipped  off  their  caps. 

"Now  I  see,"  Curly  said;  "Peter  was  bringing 
her  to  us."  He  threw  himself  sorrowfully  on 
the  ground. 

"A  lady  to  take  care  of  us  at  last,"  said  one 
of  the  twins,  "and  you  have  killed  her!" 

They  were  sorry  for  him,  but  sorrier  for 
themselves,  and  when  he  took  a  step  nearer 
them  they  turned  from  him. 

Tootles'  face  was  very  white,  but  there  was 
a  dignity  about  him  now  that  had  never  been 
there  before. 

"I  did  it,"  he  said,  reflecting.  "When  ladies 
used  to  come  to  me  in  dreams,  I  said,  *  Pretty 
mother,  pretty  mother.'  But  when  at  last  she 
really  came,  I  shot  her." 

He  moved  slowly  away. 

"Don't  go,"  they  called  in  pity. 

"I  must,"  he  answered,  shaking;  "I  am  so 
afraid  of  Peter." 

It  was  at  this  tragic  moment  that  they  heard 
a  sound  which  made  the  heart  of  every  one  of 
them    rise    to   his   mouth.     They   heard    Peter 

CTOW. 


96  PETER   AND   WENDY 

"Peter!"  they  cried,  for  it  was  always  thus 
that  he  signalled  his  return. 

"Hide  her,"  they  whispered,  and  gathered 
hastily  around  Wendy.  But  Tootles  stood 
aloof. 

Again  came  that  ringing  crow,  and  Peter 
dropped  in  front  of  them.  "Greeting,  boys," 
he  cried,  and  mechanically  they  saluted,  and 
then  again  was  silence. 

He  frowned. 

"I  am  back,"  he  said  hotly,  "why  do  you  not 
cheer  ?  " 

They  opened  their  mouths,  but  the  cheers 
would  not  come.  He  overlooked  it  in  his  haste 
to  tell  the  glorious  tidings. 

"  Great  news,  boys,"  he  cried,  "I  have  brought 
at  last  a  mother  for  you  all." 

Still  no  sound,  except  a  little  thud  from 
Tootles  as  he  dropped  on  his  knees. 

"Have  you  not  seen  her?"  asked  Peter,  be- 
coming troubled.     "She  flew  this  way." 

"Ah  me!"  one  voice  said,  and  another  said, 
"Oh,  mournful  day." 

Tootles  rose.  "  Peter,"  he  said  quietly,  "  I  will 
show  her  to  you,"  and  when  the  others  would 


THE   LITTLE   HOUSE  §7 

still  have  hidden  her  he  said,  "Back,  twins,  let 
Peter  see." 

So  they  all  stood  back,  and  let  him  see,  and 
after  he  had  looked  for  a  little  time  he  did  not 
know  what  to  do  next. 

"She  is  dead,"  he  said  uncomfortably.  "Per- 
haps she  is  frightened  at  being  dead." 

He  tliought  of  hopping  off  in  a  comic  sort 
of  way  till  he  was  out  of  sight  of  her,  and  then 
never  going  near  the  spot  any  more.  They 
would  all  have  been  glad  to  follow  if  he  had 
done  this. 

But  there  was  the  arrow.  He  took  it  from 
her  heart  and  faced  his  band. 

"Whose  arrow .'^"  he  demanded  sternly. 

"Mine,  Peter,"  said  Tootles  on  his  knees. 

"  Oh,  dastard  hand,"  Peter  said,  and  he  raised 
the  arrow  to  use  it  as  a  dagger. 

Tootles  did  not  flinch.  He  bared  his  breast, 
"Strike,  Peter,"  he  said  firmly,  "strike  true." 

Twice  did  Peter  raise  the  arrow,  and  twice 
did  his  hand  fall.  "I  cannot  strike,"  he  said 
with  awe,  "there  is  something  stays  my  hand." 

All  looked  at  him  in  wonder,  save  Nibs,  who 
fortunately  looked  at  Wendy. 


98  PETER  AND   WENDY 

*'It  is  she,"  he  cried,  "the  Wendy  lady,  see, 
her  arm!" 

Wonderful  to  relate,  Wendy  had  raised  her 
arm.  Nibs  bent  over  her  and  listened  rever- 
ently. "I  think  she  said  'Poor  Tootles,'"  he 
whispered. 

"She  lives,"  Peter  said  briefly. 

Slightly  cried  instantly,  "The  Wendy  lady 
lives." 

Then  Peter  knelt  beside  her  and  found  his 
button.  You  remember  she  had  put  it  on  a 
chain  that  she  wore  round  her  neck. 

"See,"  he  said,  "the  arrow  struck  against  this. 
It  is  the  kiss  I  gave  her.  It  has  saved  her 
life." 

"I  remember  kisses,"  Slightly  interposed 
quickly,  "let  me  see  it.     Ay,  that's  a  kiss." 

Peter  did  not  hear  him.  He  was  begging 
Wendy  to  get  better  quickly,  so  that  he  could 
show  her  the  mermaids.  Of  course  she  could 
not  answer  yet,  being  still  in  a  frightful  faint; 
but  from  overhead  came  a  wailing  note. 

"Listen  to  Tink,"  said  Curly,  "she  is  crying 
because  the  Wendy  lives." 

Then  they  had  to  tell  Peter  of  Tink's  crime. 


THE   LITTLE   HOUSE  99 

and  almost  never  had  they  seen  him  look  so 
stern. 

"Listen,  Tinker  Bell,"  he  cried,  "I  am  your 
friend  no  more.     Begone  from  me  for  ever." 

She  flew  on  to  his  shoulder  and  pleaded,  but 
he  brushed  her  off.  Not  until  Wendy  again 
raised  her  arm  did  he  relent  sufficiently  to  say, 
"Well,  not  for  ever,  but  for  a  whole  week." 

Do  you  think  Tinker  Bell  was  grateful  to 
Wendy  for  raising  her  arm.^  Oh  dear  no, 
never  wanted  to  pinch  her  so  much.  Fairies 
indeed  are  strange,  and  Peter,  who  understood 
them  best,  often  cuffed  them. 

But  what  to  do  with  Wendy  in  her  present 
delicate  state  of  health  ? 

"Let  us  carry  her  down  into  the  house," 
Curly  suggested. 

"Ay,"  said  Slightly,  "that  is  what  one  does 
with  ladies." 

"No,  no,"  Peter  said,  "you  must  not  touch 
her.     It  would  not  be  sufficiently  respectful." 

"That,"  said  Slightly,  "is  what  I  was  think- 

ing-" 

"But  if  she  lies  there,"  Tootles  said,  "she  wUl 
die." 


100  PETER  AND   WENDY 

"Ay,  she  will  die,"  Slightly  admitted,  "but 
there  is  no  way  out." 

"Yes,  there  is,"  cried  Peter.  "Let  us  build  a 
little  house  round  her." 

They  were  all  delighted.  "  Quick,"  he  ordered 
them,  "bring  me  each  of  you  the  best  of  what 
we  have.     Gut  our  house.     Be  sharp." 

In  a  moment  they  were  as  busy  as  tailors  the 
night  before  a  wedding.  They  skurried  this 
way  and  that,  down  for  bedding,  up  for  fire- 
wood, and  while  they  were  at  it,  who  should 
appear  but  John  and  ^lichael.  As  they  dragged 
along  the  ground  they  fell  asleep  standing, 
stopped,  woke  up,  moved  another  step  and 
slept  again. 

"John,  John,"  Michael  would  cry,  "wake  up! 
Where  is  Nana,  John,  and  mother.'^" 

And  then  John  would  rub  his  eyes  and 
mutter,  "It  is  true,  we  did  fly." 

You  may  be  sure  they  were  very  relieved  to 
find  Peter. 

"Hullo,  Peter,"  they  said. 

"Hullo,"  repHed  Peter  amicably,  though  he 
had  quite  forgotten  them.  He  was  very 
busy   at   the   moment   measuring   Wendy   with 


THE  LITTLE   HOUSE  101 

his  feet  to  see  how  large  a  house  she  would 
need.  Of  course  he  meant  to  leave  room  for 
chau's  and  a  table.  John  and  Michael  watched 
him. 

*'Is  Wendy  asleep?"  they  asked. 

"Yes." 

"John,"  Michael  proposed,  "let  us  wake  her 
and  get  her  to  make  supper  for  us,"  and  as  he 
said  it  some  of  the  other  boys  rushed  on  carry- 
ing branches  for  the  building  of  the  house. 
"Look  at  them!"  he  cried. 

"  Curly,"  said  Peter  in  his  most  captainy  voice, 
"see  that  these  boys  help  in  the  building  of  the 
house." 

"Ay,  ay,  sir." 

"Build  a  house .^"  exclaimed  John. 

"For  the  Wendy,"  said  Curly. 

"For  Wendy.?"  John  said,  aghast.  "Why, 
she  is  only  a  girl!" 

"That,"  explained  Curly,  "is  why  we  are  her 
servants." 

"  You  ?     Wendy's  servants ! " 

"  Yes,"  said  Peter,  "  and  you  also.  Away  with 
them." 

The  astounded  brothers  were  dragged  away 


102  PETER  AND   WENDY 

to  hack  and  hew  and  carry.  "Chairs  and  a 
fender  first,"  Peter  ordered.  "Then  we  shall 
build  the  house  round  them." 

"Ay,"  said  Slightly,  "that  is  how  a  house  is 
built;  it  all  comes  back  to  me." 

Peter  thought  of  everything.  "Slightly,"  he 
cried,  "fetch  a  doctor." 

"Ay,  ay,"  said  Slightly  at  once,  and  dis- 
appeared, scratching  his  head.  But  he  knew 
Peter  must  be  obeyed,  and  he  returned  in  a 
moment,  wearing  John's  hat  and  looking  solemn. 

"Please,  sir,"  said  Peter,  going  to  him,  "are 
you  a  doctor  ?  " 

The  difference  between  him  and  the  other 
boys  at  such  a  time  was  that  they  knew  it  was 
make-believe,  while  to  him  make-believe  and  true 
were  exactly  the  same  thing.  This  sometimes 
troubled  them,  as  when  they  had  to  make- 
believe  that  they  had  had  their  dinners. 

If  they  broke  down  in  their  make-believe  he 
rapped  them  on  the  knuckles. 

"Yes,  my  little  man,"  anxiously  replied 
Slightly,  who  had  chapped  knuckles. 

"Please,  sir,"  Peter  explained,  "  a  lady  lies  very 
ill." 


THE   LITTLE   HOUSE  103 

She  was  lying  at  their  feet,  but  Slightly  had 
the  sense  not  to  see  her. 

"Tut,  tut,  tut,"  he  said,  "where  does  she  lie ?" 

"In  yonder  glade." 

"I  will  put  a  glass  thing  in  her  mouth,"  said 
Slightly,  and  he  made-believe  to  do  it,  while 
Peter  waited.  It  was  an  anxious  moment  when 
the  glass  thing  was  withdrawn. 

"How  is  she.'^"  inquired  Peter. 

"Tut,  tut,  tut,"  said  Slightly,  "this  has  cured 
her." 

"I  am  glad!"  Peter  cried. 

"I  will  call  again  in  the  evening,"  Slightly 
said;  "give  her  beef  tea  out  of  a  cup  with  a 
spout  to  it";  but  after  he  had  returned  the  hat 
to  John  he  blew  big  breaths,  which  was  his 
habit  on  escaping  from  a  difficulty. 

In  the  meantime  the  wood  had  been  alive 
with  the  sound  of  axes;  almost  everything 
needed  for  a  cosy  dwelling  already  lay  at 
Wendy's  feet. 

"If  only  we  knew,"  said  one,  "the  kind  of 
house  she  likes  best." 

"Peter,"  shouted  another,  "she  is  moving  in 
her  sleep." 


104  PETER  AND   WENDY 

*'Her  mouth  opens,"  cried  a  third,  looking 
respectfully  into  it.     "Oh,  lovely!" 

"Perhaps  she  is  going  to  sing  in  her  sleep," 
said  Peter.  "Wendy,  sing  the  kind  of  house 
you  would  like  to  have." 

Immediately,  without  opening  her  eyes, 
Wendy  began  to  sing: 

"I  wish  I  had  a  pretty  house. 
The  littlest  ever  seen. 
With  funny  httle  red  walls 
And  roof  of  mossy  green." 

They  gurgled  with  joy  at  this,  for  by  the 
greatest  good  luck  the  branches  they  had  brought 
were  sticky  with  red  sap,  and  all  the  ground 
was  carpeted  with  moss.  As  they  rattled  up  the 
little  house  they  broke  into  song  themselves* 

"We've  built  the  little  walls  and  roof 

And  made  a  lovely  door, 
■   So  tell  us,  mother  Wendy, 

What  are  you  wanting  more  ?  " 

To  this  she  answered  rather  greedily: 

"Oh,  really  next  I  think  I'll  have 
Gay  windows  all  about. 
With  roses  peeping  in,  you  know. 
And  babies  peeping  out." 


THE   LITTLE   HOUSE  105 

With  a  blow  of  their  fists  they  made  windows, 
and  large  yellow  leaves  were  the  blinds.  But 
roses ? 

"Roses!"  cried  Peter  sternly. 

Quickly  they  made-believe  to  grow  the  love- 
liest roses  up  the  walls. 

Babies  ? 

To  prevent  Peter  ordering  babies  they  hurried 
into  song  again: 

"We've  made  the  rosea  peeping  out. 
The  babes  are  at  the  door, 
We  cannot  make  ourselves,  you  know, 
'Cos  we've  been  made  before." 

Peter,  seeing  this  to  be  a  good  idea,  at  once 
pretended  that  it  was  his  own.  The  house  was 
quite  beautiful,  and  no  doubt  Wendy  was  very 
cosy  within,  though,  of  course,  they  could 
no  longer  see  her.  Peter  strode  up  and  down, 
ordering  finishing  touches.  Nothing  escaped 
his  eagle  eye.  Just  when  it  seemed  absolutely 
finished, 

"There's  no  knocker  on  the  door,"  he  said. 

They  were  very  ashamed,  but  Tootles  gave 
the  sole  of  his  shoe,  and  it  made  an  excellent 
knocker. 


106  PETER   AND   WENDY 

Absolutely  finished  now,  they  thought. 

Not  a  bit  of  it.  *' There's  no  chimney,"  Peter 
said;  "we  must  have  a  chimney." 

"It  certainly  does  need  a  chimney,"  said 
John  importantly.  This  gave  Peter  an  idea. 
He  snatched  the  hat  off  John's  head,  knocked 
out  the  bottom,  and  put  the  hat  on  the  roof. 
The  little  house  was  so  pleased  to  have  such  a 
capital  chimney  that,  as  if  to  say  thank  you, 
smoke  immediately  began  to  come  out  of  the 
hat. 

Now  really  and  truly  it  was  finished.  Nothing 
remained  to  do  but  to  knock. 

"All  look  your  best,"  Peter  warned  them; 
"first  impressions  are  awfully  important." 

He  was  glad  no  one  asked  him  what  first 
impressions  are;  they  were  all  too  busy  looking 
their  best. 

He  knocked  politely,  and  now  the  wood  was 
as  still  as  the  children,  not  a  sound  to  be  heard 
except  from  Tinker  Bell,  who  was  watching 
from  a  branch  and  openly  sneering. 

What  the  boys  were  wondering  was,  would 
any  one  answer  the  knock  ?  If  a  lady,  what 
would  she  be  like  ? 


THE  LITTLE  HOUSE  107 

The  door  opened  and  a  lady  came  out.  It 
was  Wendy.     They  all  whipped  off  their  hats. 

She  looked  properly  surprised,  and  this  was 
just  how  they  had  hoped  she  would  look. 

"  Where  am  I  ? "  she  said. 

Of  course  Slightly  was  the  first  to  get  his 
word  in.  "Wendy  lady,"  he  said  rapidly,  "for 
you  we  built  this  house." 

"Oh,  say  you're  pleased,"  cried  Nibs. 

"Lovely,  darling  house,"  Wendy  said,  and 
they  were  the  very  words  they  had  hoped  she 
would  say. 

"And  we  are  your  children,"  cried  the  twins. 

Then  all  went  on  their  knees,  and  holding  out 
their  arms  cried,  "O  Wendy  lady,  be  our 
mother." 

"Ought  I.?"  Wendy  said,  all  shining.  "Of 
course  it's  frightfully  fascinating,  but  you  see 
I  am  only  a  little  girl.  I  have  no  real  ex- 
perience." 

"That  doesn't  matter,"  said  Peter,  as  if  he 
were  the  only  person  present  who  knew  all 
about  it,  though  he  was  really  the  one  who 
knew  least.  "What  we  need  is  just  a  nica 
motherly  person.'* 


108  PETER  AND   WENDY 

"Oh  dear!"  Wendy  said,  "you  see  I  feel  that 
is  exactly  what  I  am." 

"It  is,  it  is,"  they  all  cried;  "we  saw  it  at 
once." 

"Very  well,"  she  said,  "I  will  do  my  best. 
Come  inside  at  once,  you  naughty  children;  I 
am  sure  your  feet  are  damp.  And  before  I  put 
you  to  bed  I  have  just  time  to  finish  the  story 
of  Cinderella." 

In  they  went;  I  don't  know  how  there  was 
room  for  them,  but  you  can  squeeze  very  tight 
in  the  Neverland.  And  that  was  the  first 
of  the  many  joyous  evenings  they  had  with 
Wendy.  By  and  by  she  tucked  them  up  in 
the  great  bed  in  the  home  under  the  trees,  but 
she  herself  slept  that  night  in  the  little  house, 
and  Peter  kept  watch  outside  with  drawn  sword, 
for  the  pirates  could  be  heard  carousing  far 
away  and  the  wolves  were  on  the  prowl.  The 
little  house  looked  so  cosy  and  safe  in  the 
darkness,  with  a  bright  light  showing  through 
its  blinds,  and  the  chimney  smoking  beautifully, 
and  Peter  standing  on  guard.  After  a  time  he 
fell  asleep,  and  some  unsteady  fairies  had  to 
climb   over  him   on   their  way  home  from   an 


THE   LITTLE  HOUSE  109 

orgy.  Any  of  the  other  boys  obstructing 
the  fairy  path  at  night  they  would  have  mis- 
chiefed,  but  they  just  tweaked  Peter's  nose 
and  passed  on. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  HOME  UNDER  THE  GROUND 

NE  of  the  first  things  Peter  did  next 
day  was  to  measure  Wendy  and  John 
and  Michael  for  hollow  trees.  Hook, 
you  remember,  had  sneered  at  the  boys  for 
thinking  they  needed  a  tree  apiece,  but  this  was 
ignorance,  for  unless  your  tree  fitted  you  it  was 
difficult  to  go  up  and  down,  and  no  two  of  the 
boys  were  quite  the  same  size.  Once  you  fitted, 
you  drew  in  your  breath  at  the  top,  and  down 
you  went  at  exactly  the  right  speed,  while  to 
ascend  you  drew  in  and  let  out  alternately, 
and  so  wriggled  up.  Of  course,  when  you  have 
mastered  the  action  you  are  able  to  do  these 
things  without  thinking  of  them,  and  then 
nothing  can  be  more  graceful. 

But  you  simply  must  fit,  and  Peter  measures 


THE  HOME  UNDER  THE  GROUND  111 

you  for  your  tree  as  carefully  as  for  a  suit  of 
clothes :  the  only  difference  being  that  the  clothes 
are  made  to  fit  you,  while  you  have  to  be  made 
to  fit  the  tree.  Usually  it  is  done  quite  easily, 
as  by  your  wearing  too  many  garments  or  too 
few,  but  if  you  are  bumpy  in  awkward  places  or 
the  only  available  tree  is  an  odd  shape,  Peter 
does  some  things  to  you,  and  after  that  you  fit. 
Once  you  fit,  great  care  must  be  taken  to  go  on 
fitting,  and  this,  as  Wendy  was  to  discover  to 
her  delight,  keeps  a  whole  family  in  perfect 
condition. 

Wendy  and  Michael  fitted  their  trees  at  the 
first  try,  but  John  had  to  be  altered  a  little. 

After  a  few  days'  practice  they  could  go  up 
and  down  as  gaily  as  buckets  in  a  well.  And 
how  ardently  they  grew  to  love  their  home 
under  the  ground;  especially  Wendy!  It  con= 
sisted  of  one  large  room,  as  all  houses  should  do, 
with  a  floor  in  which  you  could  dig  if  you 
wanted  to  go  fishing,  and  in  this  floor  grew  stout 
mushrooms  of  a  charming  colour,  which  were 
used  as  stools.  A  Never  tree  tried  hard  to  grow 
in  the  centre  of  the  room,  but  every  morning 
they  sawed   the  trunk  through,   level  with  the 


112  PETER  AND   WENDY 

floor.  By  tea-time  it  was  always  about  two 
feet  high,  and  then  they  put  a  door  on  top  of 
it,  the  whole  thus  becoming  a  table;  as  soon 
as  they  cleared  away,  they  sawed  off  the  trunk 
again,  and  thus  there  was  more  room  to 
play.  There  was  an  enormous  fireplace  which 
was  in  almost  any  part  of  the  room  where 
you  cared  to  light  it,  and  across  this  Wendy 
stretched  strings,  made  of  fibre,  from  which  she 
suspended  her  washing.  The  bed  was  tilted 
against  the  wall  by  day,  and  let  down  at  6.30, 
when  it  filled  nearly  half  the  room;  and  all  the 
boys  slept  in  it,  except  Michael,  lying  Uke 
sardines  in  a  tin.  There  was  a  strict  rule  against 
turning  round  until  one  gave  the  signal,  when 
all  turned  at  once.  Michael  should  have  used  it 
also,  but  Wendy  would  have  a  baby,  and  he  was 
the  littlest,  and  you  know  what  women  are,  and 
the  short  and  the  long  of  it  is  that  he  was  hung 
up  in  a  basket. 

It  was  rough  and  simple,  and  not  unlike 
what  baby  bears  would  have  made  of  an  under- 
ground house  in  the  same  cii'cumstances.  But 
there  was  one  recess  in  the  wall,  no  larger 
than  a  bird-cage,  which  was  the  private  apart- 


THE  HOME  UNDER  THE  GROUND  113 

ment  of  Tinker  Bell.  It  could  be  shut  off  from 
the  rest  of  the  home  by  a  tiny  curtain,  which 
Tink,  who  was  most  fastidious,  always  kept 
drawn  when  dressing  or  undressing.  No  woman, 
however  large,  could  have  had  a  more  exquisite 
boudoir  and  bed-chamber  combined.  The  couch, 
as  she  always  called  it,  was  a  genuine  Queen 
Mab,  with  club  legs;  and  she  varied  the  bed- 
spreads according  to  what  fruit-blossom  was  in 
season.  Her  mirror  was  a  Puss-in-boots,  of 
which  there  are  now  only  three,  unchipped, 
known  to  the  fairy  dealers;  the  wash-stand  was 
Pie-crust  and  reversible,  the  chest  of  drawers  an 
authentic  Charming  the  Sixth,  and  the  carpet 
and  rugs  of  the  best  (the  early)  period  of 
Margery  and  Robin.  There  was  a  chandelier 
from  Tiddlywinks  for  the  look  of  the  thing,  but 
of  course  she  lit  the  residence  herself.  Tink 
was  very  contemptuous  of  the  rest  of  the  house, 
as  indeed  was  perhaps  inevitable,  and  her 
chamber,  though  beautiful,  looked  rather  con- 
ceited, having  the  appearance  of  a  nose  per- 
manently turned  up. 

I  suppose  it  was  all  especially  entrancing  to 
Wendy,  because  those  rampagious  boys  of  hers 


114  PETER  AND   WENDY 

gave  her  so  much  to  do.  Really  there  were 
whole  weeks  when,  except  perhaps  with  a  stock- 
ing in  the  evening,  she  was  never  above  ground. 
The  cooking,  I  can  tell  you,  kept  her  nose  to 
the  pot,  and  even  if  there  was  nothing  in  it,  even 
though  there  was  no  pot,  she  had  to  keep  watch- 
ing that  it  came  aboil  just  the  same.  You  never 
exactly  knew  whether  there  would  be  a  real 
meal  or  just  a  make-believe,  it  all  depended 
upon  Peter's  whim:  he  could  eat,  really  eat,  if  it 
was  part  of  a  game,  but  he  could  not  stodge 
just  to  feel  stodgy,  which  is  what  most  children 
like  better  than  anything  else;  the  next  best 
thing  being  to  talk  about  it.  Make-believe  was 
so  real  to  him  that  during  a  meal  of  it  you  could 
see  him  getting  rounder.  Of  course  it  was 
trying,  but  you  simply  had  to  follow  his  lead, 
and  if  you  could  prove  to  him  that  you 
were  getting  loose  for  your  tree  he  let  you 
stodge. 

Wendy's  favourite  time  for  sewing  and  darn- 
ing was  after  they  had  all  gone  to  bed.  Then, 
as  she  expressed  it,  she  had  a  breathing  time 
for  herself;  and  she  occupied  it  in  making 
new  things  for  them,  and  putting  double  pieces 


THE  HOME  UNDER  THE  GROUND  115 

on  the  knees,  for  they  were  all  most  frightfully 
hard  on  their  knees. 

When  she  sat  down  to  a  basketful  of  their 
stockings,  every  heel  with  a  hole  in  it,  she  would 
fling  up  her  arms  and  exclaim,  "Oh  dear,  I  am 
sure  I  sometimes  think  spinsters  are  to  be 
envied!" 

Her  face  beamed  when  she  exclaimed  this. 

You  remember  about  her  pet  wolf.  Well,  it 
very  soon  discovered  that  she  had  come  to  the 
island  and  found  her  out,  and  they  just  ran  into 
each  other's  arms.  After  that  it  followed  her 
about  everywhere. 

As  time  wore  on  did  she  think  much  about 
the  beloved  parents  she  had  left  behind  her.'^ 
This  is  a  difficult  question,  because  it  is  quite 
impossible  to  say  how  time  does  wear  on  in  the 
Neverland,  where  it  is  calculated  by  moons  and 
suns,  and  there  are  ever  so  many  more  of  them 
than  on  the  mainland.  But  I  am  afraid  that 
Wendy  did  not  really  worry  about  her  father 
and  mother;  she  was  absolutely  confident  that 
they  would  always  keep  the  window  open  for 
her  to  fly  back  by,  and  this  gave  her  complete 
ease  of  mind.     What  did  disturb  her  at  times 


116  PETER  AND  WENDY 

was  that  John  remembered  his  parents  vagueij 
only,  as  people  he  had  once  known,  while  Michael 
was  quite  willing  to  believe  that  she  was  really 
his  mother.  These  things  scared  her  a  Uttle,  and 
nobly  anxious  to  do  her  duty,  she  tried  to  fix 
the  old  life  in  their  minds  by  setting  them 
examination  papers  on  it,  as  like  as  possible  to 
the  ones  she  used  to  do  at  school.  The  other 
boys  thought  this  awfully  interesting,  and 
insisted  on  joining,  and  they  made  slates  for 
themselves,  and  sat  round  the  table,  writing  and 
thinking  hard  about  the  questions  she  had 
written  on  another  slate  and  passed  round. 
They  were  the  most  ordinary  questions — *'What 
was  the  colour  of  Mother's  eyes?  Which  was 
taller.  Father  or  Mother?  Was  Mother  blonde 
or  brunette?  Answer  all  three  questions  if 
possible.'*  "  (A)  Write  an  essay  of  not  less  than 
40  words  on  How  I  spent  my  last  Holidays, 
or  The  Carakters  of  Father  and  Mother  com- 
pared. Only  one  of  these  to  be  attempted." 
Or  "(1)  Describe  Mother's  laugh;  (2)  Describe 
Father's  laugh;  (3)  Describe  Mother's  Party 
Dress;  (4)  Describe  the  Kennel  and  its  Inmate." 
They  were  just  everyday  questions  like  these. 


THE  HOME  UNDER  THE  GROUND  117 

and  when  you  could  not  answer  them  you  were 
told  to  make  a  cross;  and  it  was  really  dreadful 
what  a  number  of  crosses  even  Jolin  made.  Of 
course  the  only  boy  who  replied  to  every 
question  was  Slightly,  and  no  one  could  have 
been  more  hopeful  of  coming  out  first,  but  his 
answers  were  perfectly  ridiculous,  and  he  really 
came  out  last:  a  melancholy  thing. 

Peter  did  not  compete.  For  one  thing  he 
despised  all  mothers  except  Wendy,  and  for 
another  he  was  the  only  boy  on  the  island  who 
could  neither  write  nor  spell;  not  the  smallest 
word.     He  was  above  all  that  sort  of  thing. 

By  the  way,  the  questions  were  all  written 
in  the  past  tense.  What  was  the  colour  of 
Mother's  eyes,  and  so  on.  Wendy,  you  see, 
had  been  forgetting  too. 

Adventures,  of  course,  as  we  shall  see,  were 
of  daily  occurrence;  but  about  this  time  Peter 
invented,  with  Wendy's  help,  a  new  game  that 
fascinated  him  enormously,  until  he  suddenly 
had  no  more  interest  in  it,  which,  as  you  have 
been  told,  was  what  always  happened  with  his 
games.  It  consisted  in  pretending  not  to  have 
adventures,  in  doing  the  sort  of  thing  John  and 


118  PETER  AND   WENDY 

Michael  had  been  doing  all  their  lives,  sitting 
on  stools  flinging  balls  in  the  air,  pushing  each 
other,  going  out  for  walks  and  coming  back 
without  having  killed  so  much  as  a  grizzly.  To 
see  Peter  doing  nothing  on  a  stool  was  a  great 
sight;  he  could  not  help  looking  solemn  at 
such  times,  to  sit  still  seemed  to  him  such  a 
comic  thing  to  do.  He  boasted  that  he  had 
gone  a  walk  for  the  good  of  his  health.  For 
several  suns  these  were  the  most  novel  of  all 
adventures  to  him;  and  John  and  Michael  had 
to  pretend  to  be  delighted  also;  otherwise  he 
would  have  treated  them  severely. 

He  often  went  out  alone,  and  when  he  came 
back  you  were  never  absolutely  certain  whether 
he  had  had  an  adventure  or  not.  He  might 
have  forgotten  it  so  completely  that  he  said 
nothing  about  it;  and  then  when  you  went  out 
you  found  the  body;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  he 
might  say  a  great  deal  about  it,  and  yet  you 
could  not  find  the  body.  Sometimes  he  came 
home  with  his  head  bandaged,  and  then  Wendy 
cooed  over  him  and  bathed  it  in  lukewarm 
water,  while  he  told  a  dazzling  tale.  But  she 
was  never  quite  sure,  you  know.     There  were. 


THE  HOME  UNDER  THE  GROUND  119 

however,  many  adventures  which  she  knew  to 
be  true  because  she  was  in  them  herself,  and 
there  were  still  more  that  were  at  least  partly 
true,  for  the  other  boys  were  in  them  and  said 
they  were  wholly  true.  To  describe  them  all 
would  require  a  book  as  large  as  an  English- 
Latin,  Latin-English  Dictionary,  and  the  most 
we  can  do  is  to  give  one  as  a  specimen  of  an 
average  hour  on  the  island.  The  difficulty  is 
which  one  to  choose.  Should  we  take  the  brush 
with  the  redskins  at  Slightly  Gulch  ?  It  was  a 
sanguinary  affair,  and  especially  interesting  as 
showing  one  of  Peter's  peculiarities,  which  was 
that  in  the  middle  of  a  fight  he  would  suddenly 
change  sides.  At  the  Gulch,  when  victory  was 
still  in  the  balance,  sometimes  leaning  this  way 
and  sometimes  that,  he  called  out,  "I'm  redskin 
to-day;  what  are  you,  Tootles.'^"  And  Tootles 
answe'red,  "Redskin;  what  are  you,  Nibs.^"  and 
Nibs  said, "Redskin;  what  are  you, Twin  ?"  and  so 
on ;  and  they  were  all  redskin ;  and  of  course  this 
would  have  ended  the  fight  had  not  the  real  red- 
skins, fascinated  by  Peter's  methods,  agreed  to  be 
lost  boys  for  that  once,  and  so  at  it  they  all 
went  again,  more  fiercely  than  ever. 


120  PETER  AND   WENDY 

The  extraordinary  upshot  of  this  adventure 
was — but  we  have  not  decided  yet  that  this  is 
the  adventure  we  are  to  narrate.  Perhaps  a 
better  one  would  be  the  night  attack  by  the 
redskins  on  the  house  under  the  ground,  when 
several  of  them  stuck  in  the  hollow  trees  and 
had  to  be  pulled  out  like  corks.  Or  we  might 
tell  how  Peter  saved  Tiger  Lily's  life  in  the 
Mermaids'  Lagoon,  and  so  made  her  his  ally. 

Or  we  could  tell  of  that  cake  tlie  pirates 
cooked  so  that  the  boys  might  eat  it  and  perish; 
and  how  they  placed  it  in  one  cunning  spot  after 
another;  but  always  Wendy  snatched  it  from  the 
hands  of  her  children,  so  that  in  time  it  lost  its 
succulence,  and  became  as  hard  as  a  stone,  and 
was  used  as  a  missile,  and  Hook  fell  over  it  in 
the  dark. 

Or  suppose  we  tell  of  the  birds  that  were 
Peter's  friends,  particularly  of  the  Never  bird 
that  built  in  a  tree  overhanging  the  lagoon, 
and  how  the  nest  fell  into  the  water,  and  still 
the  bird  sat  on  her  eggs,  and  Peter  gave  orders 
that  she  was  not  to  be  disturbed.  That  is  a 
pretty  story,  and  the  end  shows  how  grateful  a 
bird  can  be;  but  if  we  tell  it  we  must  also  tell 


THE  HOME  UNDER  THE  GROUND  Ul 

the  whole  adventure  of  the  lagoon,  which  would 
of  course  be  telling  two  adventures  rather  than 
just  one.  A  shorter  adventure,  and  quite  as 
exciting,  was  Tinker  Bell's  attempt,  with  the 
help  of  some  street  fairies,  to  have  the  sleeps 
ing  Wendy  conveyed  on  a  great  floating  leaf  to 
the  mainland.  Fortunately  the  leaf  gave  way 
and  Wendy  woke,  thinking  it  was  bath-time, 
and  swam  back.  Or  again,  we  might  choose 
Peter's  defiance  of  the  lions,  when  he  drew  a 
circle  round  him  on  the  ground  with  an  arrow 
and  dared  them  to  cross  it;  and  though  he 
waited  for  hours,  with  the  other  boys  and 
Wendy  looking  on  breathlessly  from  trees,  not 
one  of  them  would  accept  his  challenge. 

Which  of  these  adventures  shall  we  choose.'^ 
The  best  way  will  be  to  toss  for  it. 

I  have  tossed,  and  the  lagoon  has  won.  This 
almost  makes  one  wish  that  the  gulch  or  the 
cake  or  Tink's  leaf  had  won.  Of  course  I  could 
do  it  again,  and  make  it  best  out  of  three;  how- 
ever, perhaps  fairest  to  stick  to  the  lagoon. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE   mermaids'    LA'GOON 

IF  you  shut  your  eyes  and  are  a  lucky  one, 
you  may  see  at  times  a  shapeless  pool  of 
lovely  pale  colours  suspended  in  the  dark- 
ness; then  if  you  squeeze  your  eyes  tighter, 
the  pool  begins  to  take  shape,  and  the  colours 
become  so  vivid  that  with  another  squeeze  they 
must  go  on  fire.  But  just  before  they  go  on 
fire  you  see  the  lagoon.  This  is  the  nearest  you 
ever  get  to  it  on  the  mainland,  just  one  heavenly 
moment;  if  there  could  be  two  moments  you 
might  see  the  surf  and  hear  the  mermaids 
singing. 

The  children  often  spent  long  summer  days 
on  this  lagoon,  swimming  or  floating  most  of 
the  time,  playing  the  mermaid  games  in  the 
water,  and  so  forth.  You  must  not  think  from 
this  that  the  mermaids  were  on  friendly  terms 

122 


THE  MERINIAIDS'  LAGOON  123 

with  them:  on  the  contrary,  it  was  among 
Wendy's  lasting  regrets  that  all  the  time  she  was 
on  the  island  she  never  had  a  civil  word  from  one 
of  them.  When  she  stole  softly  to  the  edge  of  the 
lagoon  she  might  see  them  b)'  the  score,  especi- 
ally on  Marooners'  Rock,  where  they  loved  to 
bask,  combing  out  their  hair  in  a  lazy  way  that 
quite  irritated  her;  or  she  might  even  swim,  on 
tiptoe  as  it  were,  to  within  a  yard  of  them,  but 
then  they  saw  her  and  dived,  probably  splashing 
her  with  their  tails,  not  by  accident,  but  inten- 
tionally. 

They  treated  all  the  boys  in  the  same  way, 
except  of  course  Peter,  who  chatted  with  them 
on  Marooners'  Rock  by  the  hour  and  sat  on 
their  tails  when  they  got  cheeky.  He  gave 
Wendy  one  of  their  combs. 

The  most  haunting  time  at  which  to  see  them 
is  at  the  turn  of  the  moon,  when  they  utter 
strange  wailing  cries ;  but  the  lagoon  Is  dangerous 
for  mortals  then,  and  until  the  evening  of  which 
we  have  now  to  tell,  Wendy  had  never  seen  the 
lagoon  by  moonlight,  less  from  fear,  for  of 
course  Peter  would  have  accompanied  her,  than 
because  she  had  strict  rules  about  every  one 


124  PETER  AND  WENDY 

being  in  bed  by  seven.  She  was  often  at  the 
lagoon,  however,  on  sunny  days  after  rain,  when 
the  mermaids  come  up  in  extraordinary  numbers 
to  play  with  their  bubbles.  The  bubbles  of 
many  colours  made  in  rainbow  water  they  treat 
as  balls,  hitting  them  gaily  from  one  to  another 
with  their  tails,  and  trying  to  keep  them  in  the 
rainbow  till  they  burst.  The  goals  are  at  each 
end  of  the  rainbow,  and  the  keepers  only 
are  allowed  to  use  their  hands.  Sometimes 
a  dozen  of  these  games  will  be  going  on  in 
the  lagoon  at  a  time,  and  it  is  quite  a  pretty 
sight. 

But  the  moment  the  children  tried  to  join  in 
they  had  to  play  by  themselves,  for  the  mermaids 
immediately  disappeared.  Nevertheless  we  have 
proof  that  they  secretly  watched  the  interlopers, 
and  were  not  above  taking  an  idea  from  them; 
for  John  introduced  a  new  way  of  hitting  the 
bubble,  with  the  head  instead  of  the  hand,  and 
the  mermaids  adopted  it.  This  is  the  one  mark 
that  John  has  left  on  the  Neverland. 

It  must  also  have  been  rather  pretty  to  see  the 
children  resting  on  a  rock  for  half  an  hour  after 
their  mid-day  meal.     Wendy  insisted  on  their 


THE  MERMAIDS'  LAGOON        125 

doing  this,  and  it  had  to  be  a  real  rest  even 
though  the  meal  was  make-believe.  So  they  lay 
there  in  the  sun,  and  their  bodies  glistened  in  it, 
while  she  sat  beside  them  and  looked  important. 

It  was  one  such  day,  and  they  were  all  on 
Marooners'  Rock.  The  rock  was  not  much 
larger  than  their  great  bed,  but  of  course  they 
all  knew  how  not  to  take  up  much  room,  and 
they  were  dozing  or  at  least  lying  with  their 
eyes  shut,  and  pinching  occasionally  when  they 
thought  Wendy  was  not  looking.  She  was 
very  busy,  stitching. 

While  she  stitched  a  change  came  to  the 
lagoon.  Little  shivers  ran  over  it,  and  the  sun 
went  away  and  shadows  stole  across  the  water, 
turning  it  cold.  Wendy  could  no  longer  see  to 
thread  her  needle,  and  when  she  looked  up,  the 
lagoon  that  had  always  hitherto  been  such 
a  laughing  place  seemed  formidable  and  un- 
friendly. 

It  was  not,  she  knew,  that  night  had  come, 
but  something  as  dark  as  night  had  come.  No, 
worse  than  that.  It  had  not  come,  but  it  had 
sent  that  shiver  through  the  sea  to  say  that  it 
was  coming.     What  was  it.? 


126  PETER  AND  WENDY 

There  crowded  upon  her  all  the  stories  she 
had  been  told  of  Marooners'  Rock,  so  called 
because  evil  captains  put  sailors  on  it  and  leave 
them  there  to  drown.  They  drown  when  the 
tide  rises,  for  then  it  is  submerged. 

Of  course  she  should  have  roused  the  children 
at  once;  not  merely  because  of  the  unknown 
that  was  stalking  toward  them,  but  because  it 
was  no  longer  good  for  them  to  sleep  on  a  rock 
grown  chilly.  But  she  was  a  young  mother 
and  she  did  not  know  this;  she  thought  you 
simply  must  stick  to  your  rule  about  half  an 
hour  after  the  mid-day  meal.  So,  though  fear 
was  upon  her,  and  she  longed  to  hear  male 
voices,  she  would  not  waken  them.  Even 
when  she  heard  the  sound  of  muffled  oars, 
though  her  heart  was  in  her  mouth,  she  did 
not  waken  them.  She  stood  over  them  to 
let  them  have  their  sleep  out.  Was  it  not 
brave  of  Wendy  ? 

It  was  well  for  those  boys  then  that  there 
was  one  among  them  who  could  sniff  danger 
even  in  his  sleep.  Peter  sprang  erect,  as  wide 
awake  at  once  as  a  dog,  and  with  one  warning 
cry  he  roused  the  others. 


THE  MERMAIDS'   LAGOON       127 

He  stood  motionless,  one  hand  to  his  ear. 

"Pirates!"  he  cried.  The  others  came  closer 
to  him.  A  strange  smile  was  playing  about  his 
face,  and  Wendy  saw  it  and  shuddered.  While 
that  smile  was  on  his  face  no  one  dared  address 
him;  all  they  could  do  was  to  stand  ready  to 
obey.     The  order  came  sharp  and  incisive. 

"Dive!" 

There  was  a  gleam  of  legs,  and  instantly  the 
lagoon  seemed  deserted.  Marooners'  Rock 
stood  alone  in  the  forbidding  waters,  as  if  it 
were  itself  marooned. 

The  boat  drew  nearer.  It  was  the  pirate 
dinghy,  with  three  figures  in  her,  Smee  and 
Starkey,  and  the  third  a  captive,  no  other  than 
Tiger  Lily.  Her  hands  and  ankles  were  tied, 
and  she  knew  what  was  to  be  her  fate.  She  was 
to  be  left  on  the  rock  to  perish,  an  end  to  one 
of  her  race  more  terrible  than  death  by  fire  or 
torture,  for  is  it  not  written  in  the  book  of  the 
tribe  that  there  is  no  path  through  water  to 
the  happy  hunting-ground  ?  Yet  her  face  was 
impassive;  she  was  the  daughter  of  a  chief,  she 
must  die  as  a  chief's  daughter,  it  is  enough. 

They  had  caught  her  boarding  the  pirate  ship 


128  PETER  AND   WENDY 

with  a  knife  in  her  mouth.  No  watch  was  kept 
on  the  ship,  it  being  Hook's  boast  that  the  wind 
of  his  name  guarded  the  ship  for  a  mile  around. 
Now  her  fate  would  help  to  guard  it  also.  One 
more  wail  would  go  the  round  in  that  wind  by 
night. 

In  the  gloom  that  they  brought  with  them 
the  two  pirates  did  not  see  the  rock  till  they 
crashed  into  it. 

"Luff,  you  lubber,**  cried  an  Irish  voice  that 
was  Smee's;  "here's  the  rock.  Now,  then,  what 
we  have  to  do  is  to  hoist  the  redskin  on  to  it 
and  leave  her  there  to  drown.'* 

It  was  the  work  of  one  brutal  moment  to 
land  the  beautiful  girl  on  the  rock;  she  was 
too  proud  to  offer  a  vain  resistance. 

Quite  near  the  rock,  but  out  of  sight,  two 
heads  were  bobbing  up  and  down,  Peter's  and 
Wendy's.  Wendy  was  crying,  for  it  was  the 
first  tragedy  she  had  seen.  Peter  had  seen 
many  tragedies,  but  he  had  forgotten  them 
all.  He  was  less  sorry  than  Wendy  for  Tiger 
Lily:  it  was  two  against  one  that  angered  him, 
and  he  meant  to  save  her.  An  easy  way  would 
have  been  to  wait  until  the  pirates  had  gone. 


THE   MERMAIDS'   LAGOON         129 

but  he  was  never  one  to  choose  the  easy 
way. 

There  was  almost  nothing  he  could  not  do, 
and  he  now  imitated  the  voice  of  Hook. 

"Ahoy  there,  you  lubbers!"  he  called.  It 
was  a  marvellous  imitation. 

"The  captain!"  said  the  pirates,  staring  at 
each  other  in  surprise. 

"He  must  be  swimming  out  to  us,"  Starkey 
said,  when  they  had  looked  for  him  in  vain. 

"We  are  putting  the  redskin  on  the  rock," 
Smee  called  out. 

"Set  her  free,"  came  the  astonishing  answer. 

"Free!" 

"Yes,  cut  her  bonds  and  let  her  go." 

"But,  captain- " 

"At  once,  d'ye  hear,"  cried  Peter,  "or  I'll 
plunge  my  hook  in  you." 

"This  is  queer!"  Smee  gasped. 

"Better  do  what  the  captain  orders,"  said 
Starkey  nervously. 

"Ay,  ay,"  Smee  said,  and  he  cut  Tiger  Lily's 
cords.  At  once  like  an  eel  she  slid  between 
Starkey' s  legs  into  the  water. 

Of    course    Wendy    was    very    elated    over 


130  PETER  AND  WENDY 

Peter's  cleverness;  but  she  knew  that  he  would 
be  elated  also  and  very  likely  crow  and  thus 
betray  himself,  so  at  once  her  hand  went  out 
to  cover  his  mouth.  But  it  was  stayed  even 
in  the  act,  for  "Boat  ahoy!"  rang  over  the 
lagoon  in  Hook's  voice,  but  this  time  it  was 
not  Peter  who  had  spoken. 

Peter  may  have  been  about  to  crow,  but  his 
face  puckered  in  a  whistle  of  surprise  instead. 

"Boat  ahoy!"  again  came  the  voice. 

Now  Wendy  understood.  The  real  Hook 
was  also  in  the  water. 

He  was  swimming  to  the  boat,  and  as  his 
men  showed  a  light  to  guide  him  he  had  soon 
reached  them.  In  the  light  of  the  lantern 
Wendy  saw  his  hook  grip  the  boat's  side;  she 
saw  his  evil  swarthy  face  as  he  rose  dripping 
from  the  water,  and,  quaking,  she  would  have 
liked  to  swim  away,  but  Peter  would  not  budge. 
He  was  tingling  with  life  and  also  top-heavy 
with  conceit.  "Am  I  not  a  wonder,  oh,  I  am  a 
wonder!"  he  whispered  to  her,  and  though  she 
thought  so  also,  she  was  really  glad  for  the  sake 
of  his  reputation  that  no  one  heard  him  except 
herself. 


THE   MERMAIDS'   LAGOON       131 

He  signed  to  her  to  listen. 

The  two  pirates  were  very  curious  to  know 
what  had  brought  their  captain  to  them,  but 
he  sat  with  his  head  on  his  hook  in  a  position 
of  profound  melancholy. 

''Captain,  is  all  well.^"  they  asked  timidly, 
but  he  answered  with  a  hollow  moan. 

"He  sighs,"  said  Smee. 

"He  sighs  again,"  said  Starkey. 

"And  vet  a  third  time  he  sighs,"  said  Smee. 

■'  What 's  up,  captain  ?  " 

Then  at  last  he  spoke  passionately. 

"The  game  's  up,  he  cried,  "those  boys  have 
found  a  mother." 

Affrighted  though  she  was,  Wendy  swelled 
with  pride. 

"O  evil  day!"  cried  Starkey. 

"What's  a  mother.'^"  asked  the  ignorant 
Smee. 

Wendy  was  so  shocked  that  she  exclaimed, 
"He  doesn't  know!"  and  always  after  this  she 
felt  that  if  you  could  have  a  pet  pirate  Smee 
would  be  her  one. 

Peter  pulled  her  beneath  the  water,  for  Hook 
had  started  up,  crying,  "What  was  that?" 


132  PETER  AND   WENDY 

"I  heard  nothing,"  said  Starkey,  raising  the 
lantern  over  the  waters,  and  as  the  pirates 
looked  they  saw  a  strange  sight.  It  was  the 
nest  I  have  told  you  of,  floating  on  the  lagoon, 
and  the  Never  bird  was  sitting  on  it. 

"See,"  said  Hook  in  answer  to  Smee's  question 
"that  is  a  mother.  What  a  lesson!  The  nest 
must  have  fallen  into  the  water,  but  would  the 
mother  desert  her  eggs  ?     No." 

There  was  a  break  in  his  voice,  as  if  for  a 
moment  he  recalled  innocent  days  when — but 
he  brushed  away  this  weakness  with  his  hook. 

Smee,  much  impressed,  gazed  at  the  bird  as 
the  nest  was  borne  past,  but  the  more  suspicious 
Starkey  said,  "If  she  is  a  mother,  perhaps  she  is 
hanging  about  here  to  help  Peter." 

Hook  winced.  "Ay,"  he  said,  "that  is  the 
fear  that  haunts  me." 

He  was  roused  from  this  dejection  by  Smee's 
eager  voice. 

"Captain,"  said  Smee,  "could  we  not  kidnap 
these  boys'  mother  and  make  her  our  mother  ?  " 

"It  is  a  princely  scheme,"  cried  Hook,  and  at 
once  it  took  practical  shape  in  his  great  brain. 
"We  will  seize  the  children  and  carry  them  to 


THE   MERMAIDS'   LAGOON       133 

the  boat :  the  boys  we  will  make  walk  the  plank, 
and  Wendy  shall  be  our  mother." 

Again  Wendy  forgot  herself. 

*' Never!*'  she  cried,  and  bobbed. 

"What  was  that?" 

But  they  could  see  nothing.  They  thought 
it  must  have  been  but  a  leaf  in  the  wind.  "Do 
you  agree,  my  bullies.^"  asked  Hook. 

"There  is  my  hand  on  it,"  they  both  said. 

"And  there  is  my  hook.     Swear." 

"They  all  swore.  By  this  time  they  were  on 
the  rock,  and  suddenly  Hook  remembered  Tiger 
Lily. 

"Where  is  the  redskin?"  he  demanded 
abruptly. 

He  had  a  playful  humour  at  moments,  and 
they  thought  this  was  one  of  the  moments. 

"That  is  all  right,  captain,"  Smee  answered 
complacently;  "we  let  her  go." 

"Let  her  go!"  cried  Hook. 

'*'Twas  your  own  orders,"  the  bo'sun  faltered. 

"You  called  over  the  water  to  us  to  let  her 
go,"  said  Starkey. 

"Brimstone  and  gall,"  thundered  Hook,  "what 
cozening  is  here!"     His  face  had  gone  black 


134  PETER  AND   WENDY 

with  rage,  but  he  saw  that  they  beheved  their 
words,  and  he  was  startled.  "Lads,"  he  said, 
shaking  a  httle,  "I  gave  no  such  order." 

"It  is  passing  queer,"  Smee  said,  and  they  all 
fidgeted  uncomfortably.  Hook  raised  his  voice, 
but  there  was  a  quiver  in  it. 

"Spirit  that  haunts  this  dark  lagoon  to-night," 
he  cried,  "  dost  hear  me  ?  " 

Of  course  Peter  should  have  kept  quiet,  but 
of  course  he  did  not.  He  immediately  answered 
in  Hook's  voice: 

"Odds,  bobs,  hammer  and  tongs,  I  hear 
you." 

In  that  supreme  moment  Hook  did  not 
blanch,  even  at  the  gills,  but  Smee  and  Starkey 
clung  to  each  other  in  terror. 

"Who  are  you,  stranger,  speak?"  Hook  de- 
manded. 

* '  I  am  James  Hook,' '  replied  the  voice,  * '■  captain 
of  the  Jolly  Roger." 

"You  are  not;  you  are  not,"  Hook  cried 
hoarsely. 

"Brimstone  and  gall,"  the  voice  retorted,  "say 
that  again,  and  I  '11  cast  anchor  in  you." 

Hook  tried  a  more  ingratiating  manner.     "If 


THE   MERMAIDS'   LAGOON       135 

you  are  Hook,"  he  said  almost  humbly,  "come 
tell  me,  who  am  I ?" 

"A  codfish,"  replied  the  voice,  "only  a  cod- 
fish." 

"A  codfish!"  Hook  echoed  blankly,  and  it 
was  then,  but  not  till  then,  that  his  proud  spirit 
broke.     He  saw  his  men  draw  back  from  him. 

"Have  we  been  captained  all  this  time  by  a 
codfish!"  they  muttered.  "It  is  lowering  to  our 
pride." 

They  were  his  dogs  snapping  at  him,  but, 
tragic  figure  though  he  had  become,  he  scarcely 
heeded  them.  Against  such  fearful  evidence  it 
was  not  their  belief  in  him  that  he  needed,  it 
was  his  own.  He  felt  his  ego  slipping  from 
him.  "Don't  desert  me,  bully,"  he  whispered 
hoarsely  to  it. 

In  his  dark  nature  there  was  a  touch  of  the 
feminine,  as  in  all  the  greatest  pirates,  and  it 
sometimes  gave  him  intuitions.  Suddenly  he 
tried  the  guessing  game. 

"Hook,"  he  called,  "have  you  another  voice  ?" 

Now  Peter  could  never  resist  a  game,  and  he 
answered  blithely  in  his  own  voice,  "I  have." 

"  And  another  name  ?  " 


136  PETER  AND   WENDY 

^Ay,ay." 

"Vegetable?"  asked  Hook, 

"No." 

"Mineral?" 
^No." 
Animal?" 
^Yes." 

"Man?" 

"No!"     This  answer  rang  out  scornfullyo 

"Boy?" 

"Yes." 

"Ordinary  boy?" 

"No!" 

"Wonderful  boy?" 

To  Wendy's  pain  the  answer  that  rang  out 
this  time  was  "Yes." 

"Are  you  in  England?" 

"No." 

"  Are  you  here  ?  " 

"Yes." 

Hook  was  completely  puzzled.  "You  ask 
him  some  questions,"  he  said  to  the  others, 
wiping  his  damp  brow. 

Smee  rejflected.  "  I  can't  think  of  a  thing, "  he 
said  regretfully. 


THE   MERMAIDS'   LAGOON       137 

"  Can't  guess,  can't  guess ! "  crowed  Peter.  *'  Do 
you  give  it  up?" 

Of  course  in  his  pride  he  was  carrying  the 
game  too  far,  and  the  miscreants  saw  their 
chance. 

*'Yes,  yes,"  they  answered  eagerly. 

"Well,  then,"  he  cried,  "I  am  Peter  Pan!" 

Pan! 

In  a  moment  Hook  was  himself  again,  and 
Smee  and  Starkey  were  his  faithful  henchmen. 

"Now  we  have  him,"  Hook  shouted.  "Into 
the  water,  Smee.  Starkey,  mind  the  boat. 
Take  him  dead  or  alive!" 

He  leaped  as  he  spoke,  and  simultaneously 
came  the  gay  voice  of  Peter. 

"Are  you  ready,  boys?" 

"Ay,  ay,"  from  various  parts  of  the  lagoon. 

"Then  lam  into  the  pirates." 

The  fight  was  short  and  sharp.  First  to  draw 
blood  was  John,  who  gallantly  climbed  into  the 
boat  and  held  Starkey.  There  was  a  fierce 
struggle,  in  which  the  cutlass  was  torn  from  the 
pirate's  grasp.  He  wriggled  overboard  and 
John  leapt  after  him.  The  dinghy  drifted 
away. 


138  PETER  AND   WENDY 

Here  and  there  a  head  bobbed  up  in  the 
water,  and  there  was  a  flash  of  steel  followed 
by  a  cry  or  a  whoop.  In  the  confusion  some 
struck  at  their  own  side.  The  corkscrew  of 
Smee  got  Tootles  in  the  fourth  rib,  but  he  was 
himself  pinked  in  turn  by  Curly.  Farther  from 
the  rock  Starkey  was  pressing  Slightly  and  the 
twins  hard. 

Where  all  this  time  was  Peter  .^  He  was 
seeking  bigger  game. 

The  others  were  all  brave  boys,  and  they 
must  not  be  blamed  for  backing  from  the  pirate 
captain.  His  iron  claw  made  a  circle  of  dead 
water  round  him,  from  which  they  fled  like 
affrighted  fishes. 

But  there  was  one  who  did  not  fear  him: 
there  was  one  prepared  to  enter  that 
circle. 

Strangely,  it  was  not  in  the  water  that  they 
met.  Hook  rose  to  the  rock  to  breathe,  and  at 
the  same  moment  Peter  scaled  it  on  the  opposite 
side.  The  rock  was  slippery  as  a  ball,  and  they 
had  to  crawl  rather  than  climb.  Neither  knew 
that  the  other  was  coming.  Each  feeling  for  a 
grip  met  the  other's  arm:  in  surprise  they  raised 


THE  MERMAIDS'   LAGOON       139 

their  heads;  their  faces  were  almost  touching; 
so  they  met. 

Some  of  the  greatest  heroes  have  confessed 
that  just  before  they  fell  to  they  had  a  sinking. 
Had  it  been  so  with  Peter  at  that  moment  I 
would  admit  it.  After  all,  this  was  the  only 
man  that  the  Sea-Cook  had  feared.  But  Peter 
had  no  sinking,  he  had  one  feeling  only,  glad- 
ness; and  he  gnashed  his  pretty  teeth  with  joy. 
Quick  as  thought  he  snatched  a  knife  from 
Hook's  belt  and  was  about  to  drive  it  home, 
when  he  saw  that  he  was  higher  up  the  rock 
than  his  foe.  It  would  not  have  been  fighting 
fair.  He  gave  the  pirate  a  hand  to  help  him 
up. 

It  was  then  that  Hook  bit  him. 

Not  the  pain  of  this  but  its  unfairness  was 
what  dazed  Peter.  It  made  him  quite  helpless. 
He  could  only  stare,  horrified.  Every  child  is 
affected  thus  the  first  time  he  is  treated  un- 
fairly. All  he  thinks  he  has  a  right  to  when 
he  comes  to  you  to  be  yours  is  fairness.  After 
you  have  been  unfair  to  him  he  will  love  you 
again,  but  he  will  never  afterwards  be  quite  the 
same  boy.     No  one  ever  gets  over  the  first  unfair' 


140  PETER  AND   WENDY 

ness;  no  one  except  Peter.  He  often  met  it, 
but  he  always  forgot  it.  I  suppose  that  was  the 
real  difference  between  him  and  all  the  rest. 

So  when  he  met  it  now  it  was  like  the  first 
time;  and  he  could  just  stare,  helpless.  Twice 
the  iron  hand  clawed  him. 

A  few  minutes  afterwards  the  other  boys  saw 
Hook  in  the  water  striking  wildly  for  the  ship; 
no  elation  on  his  pestilent  face  now,  only  white 
fear,  for  the  crocodile  was  in  dogged  pursuit  of 
him.  On  ordinary  occasions  the  boys  would 
have  swum  alongside  cheering;  but  now  they 
were  uneasy,  for  they  had  lost  both  Peter  and 
Wendy,  and  were  scouring  the  lagoon  for  them, 
calling  them  by  name.  They  found  the  dinghy 
and  went  home  in  it,  shouting  "Peter,  Wendy" 
as  they  went,  but  no  answer  came  save  mocking 
laughter  from  the  mermaids.  *'They  must  be 
swimming  back  or  flying,"  the  boys  concluded. 
They  were  not  very  anxious,  they  had  such  faith 
in  Peter.  They  chuckled,  boylike,  because  they 
would  be  late  for  bed;  and  it  was  all  mother 
Wendy's  fault! 

WTien  their  voices  died  away  there  came  cold 
silence  over  the  lagoon,  and  then  a  feeble  cry. 


THE   MERMAIDS'   LAGOON       141 

"Help,  help!" 

Two  small  figures  were  beating  against  the 
rock;  the  girl  had  fainted  and  lay  on  the  boy's 
arm.  With  a  last  effort  Peter  pulled  her  up 
the  rock  and  then  lay  down  beside  her.  Even 
as  he  also  fainted  he  saw  that  the  water  was 
rising.  He  knew  that  they  would  soon  be 
drowned,  but  he  could  do  no  more. 

As  they  lay  side  by  side  a  mermaid  caught 
Wendy  by  the  feet,  and  began  pulling  her 
softly  into  the  water.  Peter,  feeling  her  slip 
from  him,  woke  with  a  start,  and  was  just  in 
time  to  draw  her  back.  But  he  had  to  tell 
her  the  truth. 

"We  are  on  the  rock,  Wendy,"  he  said,  "but 
it  is  growing  smaller.  Soon  the  water  will  be 
over  it." 

She  did  not  understand  even  now. 

"We  must  go,"  she  said,  almost  brightly. 

"Yes,"  he  answered  faintly. 

"  Shall  we  swim  or  fly,  Peter  ?  " 

He  had  to  tell  her. 

"Do  you  think  you  could  sv/im  or  fly  as  far 
as  the  island,  Wendy,  without  my  help  ?  " 

She  had  to  admit  that  she  was  too  tired. 


142  PETER  AND   WENDY 

He  moaned. 

"What  is  it?"  she  asked,  anxious  about  him 
at  once. 

"I  can't  help  you,  Wendy.  Hook  wounded 
me.     I  can  neither  fly  nor  swim." 

"  Do  you  mean  we  shall  both  be  drowned  ? " 

"Look  how  the  water  is  rising." 

They  put  their  hands  over  their  eyes  to 
shut  out  the  sight.  They  thought  they  would 
soon  be  no  more.  As  they  sat  thus  something 
brushed  against  Peter  as  light  as  a  kiss,  and 
stayed  there,  as  if  saying  timidly,  "Can  I  be 
of  any  use  ?  " 

It  was  the  tail  of  a  kite,  which  Michael  had 
made  some  days  before.  It  had  torn  itself  out 
of  his  hand  and  floated  away. 

"Michael's  kite,"  Peter  said  without  interest, 
but  next  moment  he  had  seized  the  tail,  and 
was  pulling  the  kite  toward  him. 

"It  lifted  Michael  off  the  ground,"  he  cried; 
'*  why  should  it  not  carry  you  ?  " 

"Both  of  us!" 

"It  can't  lift  two;  Michael  and  Curly  tried." 

'*Let  us  draw  lots,"  Wendy  said  bravely. 

"And  you  a  lady;  never."     Already  he  had 


"TO  DIE  WILL  BE  AN  AWFULLY  BIG  ADVENTURE?" 


THE   MERMAIDS'   LAGOON       143 

tied  the  tail  round  her.  She  clung  to  him; 
she  refused  to  go  without  him;  but  with  a 
"Good-bye,  Wendy,"  he  pushed  her  from  the 
rock;  and  in  a  few  minutes  she  was  borne  out 
of  his  sight.     Peter  was  alone  on  the  lagoon. 

The  rock  was  very  small  now;  soon  it  would 
be  submerged.  Pale  rays  of  light  tiptoed  across 
the  waters ;  and  by  and  by  there  was  to  be  heard 
a  sound  at  once  the  most  musical  and  the  most 
melancholy  in  the  world:  the  mermaids  calling 
to  the  moon. 

Peter  was  not  quite  like  other  boys;  but  he 
was  afraid  at  last.  A  tremor  ran  through  him, 
like  a  shudder  passing  over  the  sea;  but  on  the 
sea  one  shudder  follows  another  till  there  are 
hundreds  of  them,  and  Peter  felt  just  the  one. 
Next  moment  he  was  standing  erect  on  the 
rock  again,  with  that  smile  on  his  face  and  a 
drum  beating  within  him.  It  was  saying,  "To 
die  will  be  an  awfully  big  adventure." 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  NEVER  BIRD 

THE  last  sounds  Peter  heard  before  he 
was  quite  alone  were  the  mermaids 
retiring  one  by  one  to  their  bedcham- 
bers under  the  sea.  He  was  too  far  away  to 
hear  their  doors  shut;  but  every  door  in  the 
coral  caves  where  they  live  rings  a  tiny  bell 
when  it  opens  or  closes  (as  in  all  the  nicest 
houses  on  the  mainland),  and  he  heard  the 
bells. 

Steadily  the  waters  rose  till  they  were  nib- 
bling at  his  feet;  and  to  pass  tlie  time  until 
they  made  their  final  gulp,  he  watched  the  only 
thing  moving  on  the  lagoon.  He  thought  it  was 
a  piece  of  floating  paper,  perhaps  part  of  the 
kite,  and  wondered  idly  how  long  it  would  take 
to  drift  ashore. 


I 


THE  NEVER  BIRD  145 

Presently  he  noticed  as  an  odd  thing  that  it 
was  undoubtedly  out  upon  the  lagoon  with 
some  definite  purpose,  for  it  was  fighting  the 
tide,  and  sometimes  winning;  and  when  it  won, 
Peter,  always  sympathetic  to  the  weaker  side, 
could  not  help  clapping;  it  was  such  a  gallant 
piece  of  paper. 

It  was  not  really  a  piece  of  paper;  it  was  the 
Never  bird,  making  desperate  efforts  to  reach 
Peter  on  her  nest.  By  working  her  wings,  in 
a  way  she  had  learned  since  the  nest  fell  into 
the  water,  she  was  able  to  some  extent  to  guide 
her  strange  craft,  but  by  the  time  Peter  recog- 
nised her  she  was  very  exhausted.  She  had 
come  to  save  him,  to  give  him  her  nest,  though 
there  were  eggs  in  it.  I  rather  wonder  at  the 
bird,  for  though  he  had  been  nice  to  her,  he  had 
also  sometimes  tormented  her.  I  can  suppose 
only  that,  like  Mrs.  Darling  and  the  rest  of 
them,  she  was  melted  because  he  had  all  his 
first  teeth. 

She  called  out  to  him  what  she  had  come  for, 
and  he  called  out  to  her  what  was  she  doing 
there;  but  of  course  neither  of  them  understood 
the  other's  language.     In  fanciful  stories  people 


146  PETER  AND   WENDY 

can  talk  to  the  birds  freely,  and  I  wish  for  the 
moment  I  could  pretend  that  this  was  such  a 
story,  and  say  that  Peter  replied  intelligently 
to  the  Never  bird;  but  truth  is  best,  and  I 
want  to  tell  only  what  really  happened.  Well, 
not  only  could  they  not  understand  each  other, 
but  they  forgot  their  manners. 

"I — want — you — to — get — into — the — nest," 
the  bird  called,  speaking  as  slowly  and  distinctly 
as  possible,  "and — then — you — can — drift — 
ashore,  but — I — am — too — tired — to — bring — 
it — any — nearer — so — you — must — try — to  — 
swim — to — it." 

"What  are  you  quacking  about .^"  Peter 
answered.  "Why  don't  you  let  the  nest  drift 
as  usual  .^" 

"I — want — ^you — "  the  bird  said,  and  repeated 
it  all  over. 

Then  Peter  tried  slow  and  distinct. 

"  What — are — ^you — quacking — about  ?  "  and 
so  on. 

The  Never  bird  became  irritated;  they  have 
very  short  tempers. 

"You  dunderheaded  little  jay,"  she  screamedj. 
"  why  don't  you  do  as  I  tell  you  ?  " 


THE   NEVER   BIRD  147 

Peter  felt  that  she  was  calling  him  names, 
and  at  a  venture  he  retorted  hotly: 

"So  are  you!" 

Then  rather  curiously  they  both  snapped  out 
the  same  remark. 

"Shut  up!" 

"Shut  up!" 

Nevertheless  the  bird  was  determined  to  save 
him  if  she  could,  and  by  one  last  mighty  effort 
she  propelled  the  nest  against  the  rock.  Then 
up  she  flew;  deserting  her  eggs,  so  as  to  make 
her  meaning  clear. 

Then  at  last  he  understood,  and  clutched  the 
nest  and  waved  his  thanks  to  the  bird  as  she 
fluttered  overhead.  It  was  not  to  receive  his 
thanks,  however,  that  she  hung  there  in  the 
sky;  it  was  not  even  to  watch  him  get  into  the 
nest;  it  was  to  see  what  he  did  with  her  eggs. 

There  were  two  large  white  eggs,  and  Peter 
lifted  them  up  and  reflected.  The  bird  covered 
her  face  with  her  wings,  so  as  not  to  see  the 
last  of  them;  but  she  could  not  help  peeping 
between  the  feathers. 

I  forget  whether  I  have  told  you  that  there 
was  a  stave  on  the  rock,  driven  into  it  by  some 


148  PETER   AND   WENDY 

buccaneers  of  long  ago  to  mark  the  site  of  burled 
treasure.  The  children  had  discovered  the  glit- 
tering hoard,  and  when  in  mischievous  mood  used 
to  fling  showers  of  moidores,  diamonds,  pearls 
and  pieces  of  eight  to  the  gulls,  who  pounced 
upon  them  for  food,  and  then  flew  away,  raging 
at  the  scurvy  trick  that  had  been  played  upon 
them.  The  stave  was  still  there,  and  on  it 
Starkey  had  hung  his  hat,  a  deep  tarpaulin, 
watertight,  with  a  broad  brim.  Peter  put  the 
eggs  into  this  hat  and  set  it  on  the  lagoon.  It 
floated  beautifully. 

The  Never  bird  saw  at  once  what  he  was  up 
to,  and  screamed  her  admiration  of  him;  and, 
alas,  Peter  crowed  his  agreement  with  her. 
Then  he  got  into  the  nest,  reared  the  stave  in 
it  as  a  mast,  and  hung  up  his  shirt  for  a  sail. 
At  the  same  moment  the  bird  fluttered  down 
upon  the  hat  and  once  more  sat  snugly  on  her 
eggs.  She  drifted  in  one  direction,  and  he  was 
borne  off  in  another,  both  cheering. 

Of  course  when  Peter  landed  he  beached  his 
barque  in  a  place  where  the  bird  would  easily 
find  it;  but  the  hat  was  such  a  great  success 
that  she  abandoned  the  nest.     It  drifted  about 


THE   NEVER   BIRD  149 

till  it  went  to  pieces,  and  often  Starkey  came 
to  the  shore  of  the  lagoon,  and  with  many 
bitter  feeUngs  watched  the  bird  sitting  on  his 
hat.  As  we  shall  not  see  her  again,  it  may  be 
worth  mentioning  here  that  all  Never  birds 
now  build  in  that  shape  of  nest,  with  a  broad 
brim  on  which  the  youngsters  take  an  airing. 

Great  were  the  rejoicings  when  Peter  reached 
the  home  under  the  ground  almost  as  soon 
as  Wendy,  who  had  been  carried  hither  and 
thither  by  the  kite.  Every  boy  had  adventures 
to  tell;  but  perhaps  the  biggest  adventure  of  all 
was  that  they  were  several  hours  late  for  bed. 
This  so  inflated  them  that  they  did  various 
dodgy  things  to  get  staying  up  still  longer, 
such  as  demanding  bandages;  but  Wendy, 
though  glorying  in  having  them  all  home  again 
safe  and  sound,  was  scandalised  by  the  lateness 
of  the  hour,  and  cried,  "To  bed,  to  bed,"  in  a 
voice  that  had  to  be  obeyed.  Next  day,  how- 
ever, she  was  awfully  tender,  and  gave  out 
bandages  to  every  one,  and  they  played  till 
bed-time  at  limping  about  and  carrying  their 
arms  in  slings. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE    HAPPY    HOME 

ONE  important  result  of  the  brush  on  the 
lagoon  was  that  it  made  the  redskins 
their  friends.  Peter  had  saved  Tiger 
Lily  from  a  dreadful  fate,  and  now  there  was 
nothing  she  and  her  braves  would  not  do  for 
him.  All  night  they  sat  above,  keeping  watch 
over  the  home  under  the  ground  and  aw^aiting 
the  big  attack  by  the  pirates  which  obviously 
could  not  be  much  longer  delayed.  Even  by 
day  they  hung  about,  smoking  the  pipe  of 
peace,  and  looking  almost  as  if  they  wanted 
tit-bits  to  eat. 

They  called  Peter  the  Great  White  Father, 
prostrating  themselves  before  him;  and  he  liked 
this  tremendously,  so  that  it  was  not  really  good 
for  him. 

150 


THE   HAPPY  HOME  151 

"The  great  white  father,"  he  would  say  to 
them  in  a  very  lordly  manner,  as  they  grovelled 
at  his  feet,  "  is  glad  to  see  the  Piccaninny  warriors 
protecting  his  wigwam  from  the  pirates." 

"Me  Tiger  Lily,"  that  lovely  creature  would 
reply,  "Peter  Pan  save  me,  me  his  velly  nice 
friend.     Me  no  let  pirates  hurt  him." 

She  was  far  too  pretty  to  cringe  in  this  way, 
but  Peter  thought  it  his  due,  and  he  would 
answer  condescendingly,  "It  is  good.  Peter 
Pan  has  spoken." 

Always  when  he  said,  "Peter  Pan  has  spoken," 
it  meant  that  they  must  now  shut  up,  and  they 
accepted  it  humbly  in  that  spirit;  but  they  were 
by  no  means  so  respectful  to  the  other  boys, 
whom  they  looked  upon  as  just  ordinary  braves. 
They  said  "How-do?"  to  them,  and  things  like 
that;  and  what  annoyed  the  boys  was  that 
Peter  seemed  to  think  this  all  right. 

Secretly  Wendy  sympathised  with  them  a 
little,  but  she  was  far  too  loyal  a  housewife  to 
listen  to  any  complaints  against  father.  "Father 
knows  best,"  she  always  said,  whatever  her 
private  opinion  must  be.  Her  private  opinion 
was  that  the  redskins  should  not  call  her  a  squaw. 


152  PETER  AND   WENDY 

We  have  now  reached  the  evening  that  was 
to  be  known  among  them  as  the  Night  of 
Nights,  because  of  its  adventures  and  their 
upshot.  The  day,  as  if  quietly  gathering  its 
forces,  had  been  almost  uneventful,  and  now 
the  redskins  in  their  blankets  were  at  their  posts 
above,  while,  below,  the  children  were  having 
their  evening  meal;  all  except  Peter,  who  had 
gone  out  to  get  the  time.  The  way  you  got 
the  time  on  the  island  was  to  find  the  crocodile, 
and  then  stay  near  him  till  the  clock  struck. 

This  meal  happened  to  be  a  make-believe  tea, 
and  they  sat  round  the  board,  guzzling  in  their 
greed;  and  really,  what  with  their  chatter  and 
recriminations,  the  noise,  as  Wendy  said,  was 
positively  deafening.  To  be  sure,  she  did  not 
mind  noise,  but  she  simply  would  not  have  them 
grabbing  things,  and  then  excusing  themselves 
by  saying  that  Tootles  had  pushed  their  elbow. 
There  was  a  fixed  rule  that  they  must  never 
hit  back  at  meals,  but  should  refer  the  matter 
of  dispute  to  Wendy  by  raising  the  right  arm 
politely  and  saying,  "I  complain  of  so-and-so"; 
but  what  usually  happened  was  that  they  forgot 
to  do  this  or  did  it  too  much. 


THE  HAPPY  HOME  153 

"Silence,"  cried  Wendy  when  for  the  twentieth 
time  she  had  told  them  that  they  were  not  all 
to  speak  at  once.  "Is  your  mug  empty,  Slightly 
darling  ?  " 

"Not  quite  empty,  mummy,"  Slightly  said, 
after  looking  into  an  imaginary  mug. 

"He  hasn't  even  begun  to  drink  his  milk," 
Nibs  interposed. 

This  was  telling,  and  Slightly  seized  his 
chance. 

"I  complain  of  Nibs,"  he  cried  promptly. 

John,  however,  had  held  up  his  hand  first. 

"Well,  John.?" 

"  May  I  sit  in  Peter's  chair,  as  he  is  not  here  ?  " 

"Sit  in  father's  chair,  John!"  Wendy  was 
scandalised,     "Certainly  not." 

"He  is  not  really  our  father,"  John  answered. 
"He  didn't  even  know  how  a  father  does  till  I 
showed  him." 

This  was  grumbling.  "We  complain  of 
John,"  cried  the  twins. 

Tootles  held  up  his  hand.  He  was  so  much 
the  humblest  of  them,  indeed  he  was  the  only 
humble  one,  that  Wendy  was  specially  gentle 
with  him. 


154  PETER  AND   WENDY 

"I  don't  suppose,"  Tootles  said  diffidently, 
"  that  I  could  be  father." 

"No,  Tootles." 

Once  Tootles  began,  which  was  not  very 
often,  he  had  a  silly  way  of  going  on. 

"As  I  can't  be  father,"  he  said  heavily,  "I 
don't  suppose,  Michael,  you  would  let  me  be 
baby.?" 

"No,  I  won't,"  Michael  rapped  out.  He  was 
already  in  his  basket. 

"As  I  can't  be  baby,"  Tootles  said,  getting 
heavier  and  heavier,  "do  you  think  I  could  be 
a  twin  ?  " 

"No,  indeed,"  replied  the  twins;  "it's  awfully 
difficult  to  be  a  twin." 

"As  I  can't  be  anything  important,"  said 
Tootles,  "would  any  of  you  like  to  see  me  do  a 
trick.?" 

"No,"  they  all  repHed. 

Then  at  last  he  stopped.  "I  hadn't  really  any 
hope,"  he  said. 

The  hateful  telling  broke  out  again. 

"Slightly  is  coughing  on  the  table." 

"The  twins  began  with  cheese-cakes." 

"  Curly  is  taking  both  butter  and  honey." 


THE   HAPPY  HOME  155 

**Nibs  is  speaking  with  his  mouth  full." 

*'I  complain  of  the  twins." 

"I  complain  of  Curly." 

"I  complain  of  Nibs." 

"Oh  dear,  oh  dear,"  cried  Wendy,  "I  'm  sure 
I  sometimes  think  that  spinsters  are  to  be 
envied." 

She  told  them  to  clear  away,  and  sat  down 
to  her  work-basket,  a  heavy  load  of  stockings 
and  every  knee  with  a  hole  in  it  as  usual. 

"Wendy,"  remonstrated  Michael,  "I'm  too 
big  for  a  cradle." 

"I  must  have  somebody  in  a  cradle,"  she  said 
almost  tartly,  "and  you  are  the  littlest.  A 
cradle  is  such  a  nice  homely  thing  to  have 
about  a  house." 

While  she  sewed  they  played  around  her; 
such  a  group  of  happy  faces  and  dancing  limbs 
lit  up  by  that  romantic  fire.  It  had  become  a 
very  familiar  scene  this  in  the  home  under  the 
ground,  but  we  are  looking  on  it  for  the  last  time. 

There  was  a  step  above,  and  Wendy,  you  may 
be  sure,  was  the  first  to  recognise  it. 

"Children,  I  hear  your  father's  step.  He 
likes  you  to  meet  him  at  the  door." 


156  PETER  AND   WENDY 

Above,  the  redskins  crouched  before  Peter. 

"Watch  well,  braves.     I  have  spoken." 

And  then,  as  so  often  before,  the  gay  children 
dragged  him  from  his  tree.  As  so  often  before, 
but  never  again. 

He  had  brought  nuts  for  the  boys  as  well  as 
the  correct  time  for  Wendy. 

"Peter,  you  just  spoil  them,  you  know%" 
Wendy  simpered. 

"Ah,  old  lady,"  said  Peter,  hanging  up  his 
gun. 

"It  was  me  told  him  mothers  are  called  old 
lady,"  Michael  whispered  to  Curly. 

"I  complain  of  Michael,"  said  Curly  instantly. 

The  first  twin  came  to  Peter.  "Father,  we 
want  to  dance." 

"Dance  away,  my  little  man,"  said  Peter,  who 
was  in  high  good  humour. 

"  But  we  want  you  to  dance." 

Peter  was  really  the  best  dancer  among  them, 
but  he  pretended  to  be  scandalised. 

"  Me !     My  old  bones  would  rattle ! " 

"And  mummy  too." 

"What!"  cried  Wendy,  "the  mother  of  such 
an  armful,  dance!" 


THE   HAPPY  HOME  157 

"But  on  a  Saturday  night,"  Slightly  in- 
sinuated. 

It  was  not  really  Saturday  night,  at  least  it 
may  have  been,  for  they  had  long  lost  count 
of  the  days;  but  always  if  they  wanted  to  do 
anything  special  they  said  this  was  Saturday 
night,  and  then  they  did  it. 

"  Of  course  it  is  Saturday  night,  Peter,"  Wendy 
said,  relenting. 

** People  of  our  j&gure,  Wendy!" 

"But  it  is  only  among  our  own  progeny." 

"True,  true." 

So  they  were  told  they  could  dance,  but  they 
must  put  on  their  nighties  first. 

"Ah,  old  lady,"  Peter  said  aside  to  Wendy, 
warming  himself  by  the  fire  and  looking  down 
at  her  as  she  sat  turning  a  heel,  "there  is 
nothing  more  pleasant  of  an  evening  for 
you  and  me  when  the  day's  toil  is  over  than 
to   rest   by   the   fire   with   the   little   ones   near 

by-" 

"It  is  sweet,  Peter,  isn't  it.^"  Wendy  said, 
frightfully  gratified.  "Peter,  I  think  Curly  has 
your  nose." 

"  Michael  takes  after  you." 


158  PETER  AND   WENDY 

She  went  to  him  and  put  her  hand  on  his 
shoulder. 

"Dear  Peter,"  she  said,  "with  such  a  large 
family,  of  course,  I  have  now  passed  my  best, 
but  you  don't  want  to  change  me,  do  you  ?" 

"No,  Wendy." 

Certainly  he  did  not  want  a  change,  but  he 
looked  at  her  uncomfortably,  blinking,  you 
know,  like  one  not  sure  whether  he  was  awake 
or  asleep. 

"Peter,  what  is  it?" 

"I  was  just  thinking,"  he  said,  a  little  scared. 
"It  is  only  make-believe,  isn't  it,  that  I  am  their 
father.?" 

"  Oh  yes,"  Wendy  said  primly. 

"You  see,"  he  continued  apologetically,  "it 
would  make  me  seem  so  old  to  be  their  real 
father." 

"But  they  are  ours,  Peter,  yours  and 
mine." 

"But  not  really,  Wendy .?"  he  asked  anxiously. 

"Not  if  you  don't  wish  it,"  she  replied;  and 
she  distinctly  heard  his  sigh  of  relief.  "Peter," 
she  asked,  trying  to  speak  firmly,  "what  are 
your  exact  feelings  to  me  ?  " 


THE  HAPPY  HOME  159 

"Those  of  a  devoted  son,  Wendy." 

*'I  thought  so,"  she  said,  and  went  and  sat  by 
herself  at  the  extreme  end  of  the  room. 

"You  are  so  queer,"  he  said,  frankly  puzzled, 
"and  Tiger  Lily  is  just  the  same.  There  is 
something  she  wants  to  be  to  me,  but  she  says 
it  is  not  my  mother." 

"No,  indeed,  it  is  not,"  Wendy  replied  with 
frightful  emphasis.  Now  we  know  why  she  was 
prejudiced  against  the  redskins. 

"Then  what  is  it.?" 

"It  isn't  for  a  lady  to  tell." 

"Oh,  very  well,"  Peter  said,  a  little  nettled. 
"Perhaps  Tinker  Bell  will  tell  me." 

"Oh  yes.  Tinker  Bell  will  tell  you,"  Wendy 
retorted  scornfully.  "She  is  an  abandoned  little 
creature." 

Here  Tink,  who  was  in  her  bedroom,  eaves- 
dropping, squeaked  out  something  impudent. 

"She  says  she  glories  in  being  abandoned," 
Peter  interpreted. 

He  had  a  sudden  idea.  "Perhaps  Tink  wants 
to  be  my  mother  ?  " 

"You  silly  ass!"  cried  Tinker  Bell  in  a 
passion. 


160  PETER  AND   WENDY 

She  had  said  it  so  often  that  Wendy  needed 
no  translation. 

"I  aknost  agree  with  her,"  Wendy  snapped. 
Fancy  Wendy  snapping!  But  she  had  been 
much  tried,  and  she  little  knew  what  was  to 
happen  before  the  night  was  out.  If  she  had 
known  she  would  not  have  snapped. 

None  of  them  knew.  Perhaps  it  was  best 
not  to  know.  Their  ignorance  gave  them  one 
more  glad  hour;  and  as  it  was  to  be  their  last 
hour  on  the  island,  let  us  rejoice  that  there  were 
sixty  glad  minutes  in  it.  They  sang  and  danced 
in  their  night-gowns.  Such  a  deliciously  creepy 
song  it  was,  in  which  they  pretended  to  be 
frightened  at  their  own  shadows,  little  witting 
that  so  soon  shadows  would  close  in  upon  them, 
from  whom  tliey  would  shrink  in  real  fear.  So 
uproariously  gay  was  the  dance,  and  how  they 
buffeted  each  other  on  the  bed  and  out  of  it! 
It  was  a  pillow  fight  rather  than  a  dance,  and 
when  it  was  finished,  the  pillows  insisted  on 
one  bout  more,  like  partners  who  know  that 
they  may  never  meet  again.  The  stories  they 
told,  before  it  was  time  for  Wendy's  good-night 
story!     Even  Slightly  tried  to  tell  a  story  that 


THE   HAPPY  HOME  161 

night,  and  the  beginning  was  so  fearfully  dull 
that  it  appalled  not  only  the  others  but  himself, 
and  he  said  happily: 

"Yes,  it  is  a  dull  beginning.  I  say,  let  us 
pretend  that  it  is  the  end." 

And  then  at  last  they  all  got  into  bed  for 
Wendy's  story,  the  story  they  loved  best,  the 
story  Peter  hated.  Usually  when  she  began  to 
tell  this  story,  he  left  the  room  or  put  his  hands 
over  his  ears;  and  possibly  if  he  had  done  either 
of  those  things  this  time  they  might  all  still  be 
on  the  island.  But  to-night  he  remained  on  his 
stool;  and  we  shall  see  what  happened. 


CHAPTER  XI 

Wendy's  story 

"LISTEN,  then,"  said  Wendy,  settling  down 

I  y  to  her  story,  with  Michael  at  her  feet 
and  seven  boys  in  the  bed.  "There 
was  once  a  gentleman " 

"I  had  rather  he  had  been  a  lady,"  Curly  said. 

"I  wish  he  had  been  a  white  rat,"  said  Nibs. 

"Quiet,"  their  mother  admonished  them. 
''There  was  a  lady  also,  and " 

"O  mummy,"  cried  the  first  twin,  "you  mean 
that  there  is  a  lady  also,  don't  you  ?  She  is  not 
dead,  is  she?" 

"Oh  no." 

"I  am  awfully  glad  she  isn't  dead,"  said 
Tootles.     "Are  you  glad,  John.^" 

"Of  course  I  am." 

" Are  you  glad,  Nibs. ?^" 

162 


WENDY'S  STORY  163 

"Rather." 

"Are  you  glad,  Twins?" 

"  We  are  just  glad." 

"Oh  dear,"  sighed  Wendy. 

"Little  less  noise  there,"  Peter  called  out, 
determined  that  she  should  have  fair  play,  how- 
ever beastly  a  story  it  might  be  in  his  opinion. 

"The  gentleman's  name,"  Wendy  continued, 
"was  Mr.  Darling,  and  her  name  was  Mrs. 
Darling." 

"I  knew  them,"  John  said,  to  annoy  the  others. 

"I  think  I  knew  them,"  said  Michael  rather 
doubtfully. 

"They  were  married,  you  know,"  explained 
Wendy,  "and  what  do  you  think  they  had?" 

"White  rats!"  cried  Nibs,  inspired. 

"No." 

"  It 's  awfully  puzzling," said  Tootles,who  knew 
the  story  by  heart. 

"Quiet,  Tootles.  They  had  three  descen- 
dants." 

"  What  is  descendants  ?" 

"  Well,  you  are  one.  Twin." 

"Do  you  hear  that,  John?  I  am  a  dascen- 
dant." 


164  PETER  AND   WENDY 

*' Descendants  are  only  children,"  said  John. 

"Oh  dear,  oh  dear,"  sighed  Wendy.  "Now 
these  three  children  had  a  faithful  nurse  called 
Nana;  but  Mr.  Darling  was  angry  with  her  and 
chained  her  up  in  the  yard,  and  so  all  the  chil- 
dren flew  away." 

"It 's  an  awfully  good  story,"  said  Nibs. 

"They  flew  away,"  Wendy  continued,  "to  the 
Neverland,  where  the  lost  children  are." 

"I  just  thought  they  did,"  Curly  broke  in 
excitedly.  "I  don't  know  how  it  is,  but  I  just 
thought  they  did!" 

"O  Wendy,"  cried  Tootles,  "was  one  of  the 
lost  children  called  Tootles  ?  " 

"Yes,  he  was." 

"I  am  in  a  story.  Hurrah,  I  am  in  a  story. 
Nibs." 

"Hush.  Now  I  want  you  to  consider  the 
feelings  of  the  unhappy  parents  with  all  their 
children  flown  away." 

"Oo!"  they  all  moaned,  though  they  were  not 
really  considering  the  feelings  of  the  unhappy 
parents  one  jot. 

"Think  of  the  empty  beds!" 

"Oo!" 


WENDY'S  STORY  165 

"It's  awfully  sad,"  the  first  twin  said  cheer- 

fully. 

"I  don't  see  how  it  can  have  a  happy  ending," 
said  the  second  twin.     "Do  you.  Nibs?" 

"I'm  frightfully  anxious." 

"If  you  knew  how  great  is  a  mother's  love," 
Wendy  told  them  triumphantly,  "you  would 
have  no  fear."  She  had  now  come  to  the  part 
that  Peter  hated. 

"I  do  Uke  a  mother's  love,"  said  Tootles, 
hitting  Nibs  with  a  pillow.  "Do  you  like  a 
mother's  love.  Nibs?" 

"I  do  just,"  said  Nibs,  hitting  back. 

"You  see,"  Wendy  said  complacently,  "our 
heroine  knew  that  the  mother  would  always 
leave  the  window  open  for  her  children  to  fly 
back  by;  so  they  stayed  away  for  years  and 
had  a  lovely  time." 

"Did  they  ever  go  back?" 

"Let  us  now,"  said  Wendy,  bracing  herself  up 
for  her  finest  effort,  "  take  a  peep  into  the  future  " ; 
and  they  all  gave  themselves  the  twist  that 
makes  peeps  into  the  future  easier.  "Years 
have  rolled  by,  and  who  is  this  elegant  lady  of 
uncertain  age  alighting  at  London  Station  ? " 


166  PETER  AND   WENDY 

"O  Wendy,  who  Is  she?"  cried  Nibs,  every 
bit  as  excited  as  if  he  didn't  know. 

"  Can  it  be — ^yes — no — it  is — the  fair  Wendy ! " 

"Oh!" 

"And  who  are  the  two  noble  portly  figures 
accompanying  her,  now  grown  to  man's  estate  ? 
Can  they  be  John  and  Michael  ?     They  are ! " 

"Oh!" 

"  *  See,  dear  brothers, '  says  Wendy,  pointing 
upwards,  "'there  is  the  window  still  standing 
open.  Ah,  now  we  are  rewarded  for  our  sub- 
lime faith  in  a  mother's  love.'  So  up  they  flew 
to  their  mummy  and  daddy,  and  pen  cannot 
describe  the  happy  scene,  over  which  we  draw 
a  veil." 

That  was  the  story,  and  they  were  as  pleased 
with  it  as  the  fair  narrator  herself.  Everything 
just  as  it  should  be,  you  see.  Off  we  skip  like 
the  most  heartless  things  in  the  world,  which 
is  what  children  are,  but  so  attractive;  and  we 
have  an  entirely  selfish  time,  and  then  when  we 
have  need  of  special  attention  we  nobly  return 
for  it,  confident  that  we  shall  be  rewarded  in- 
stead of  smacked. 

So  great  indeed  was  their  faith  in  a  mother's 


WENDY'S  STORY  167 

love  that  they  felt  they  could  afford  to  be 
callous  for  a  bit  longer. 

But  there  was  one  there  who  knew  better,  and 
when  Wendy  finished  he  uttered  a  hollow  groan. 

"  What  is  it,  Peter  ?  "  she  cried,  running  to  him, 
thinking  he  was  ill.  She  felt  him  solicitously, 
lower  down  than  his  chest.  "Where  is  it, 
Peter.?" 

"It  isn't  that  kind  of  pain,"  Peter  replied 
darkly. 

"Then  what  kind  is  it.?" 

"  Wendy,  you  are  wrong  about  mothers." 

They  all  gathered  round  him  in  affright,  so 
alarming  was  his  agitation;  and  with  a  fine 
candour  he  told  them  what  he  had  hitherto 
concealed. 

"Long  ago,"  he  said,  "I  thought  like  you  that 
my  mother  would  always  keep  the  window  open 
for  me,  so  I  stayed  away  for  moons  and  moons 
and  moons,  and  then  flew  back;  but  the  window 
was  barred,  for  mother  had  forgotten  all  about 
me,  and  there  was  another  little  boy  sleeping  in 
my  bed." 

I  am  not  sure  that  this  was  true,  but  Peter 
thought  it  was  true;  and  it  scared  them. 


168  PETER  AND   WENDY 

"  Are  you  sure  mothers  are  like  that  ? " 

''Yes." 

So  this  was  the  truth  about  mothers.  The 
toads! 

Still  it  is  best  to  be  careful;  and  no  one  knows 
so  quickly  as  a  child  when  he  should  give  in. 
"Wendy,  let  us  go  home,"  cried  John  and 
Michael  together. 

"Yes,"  she  said,  clutching  them. 

"  Not  to-night.'^"  asked  the  lost  boys  bewildered. 
They  knew  in  what  they  called  their  hearts  that 
one  can  get  on  quite  well  without  a  mother, 
and  that  it  is  only  the  mothers  who  think  you 
can't. 

"At  once,"  Wendy  replied  resolutely,  for  the 
horrible  thought  had  come  to  her:  '*  Perhaps 
mother  is  in  half  mourning  by  this  time." 

This  dread  made  her  forgetful  of  what  must 
be  Peter's  feelings,  and  she  said  to  him  rather 
sharply,  "Peter,  will  you  make  the  necessary 
arrangements  ?  " 

"If  you  wish  it,"  he  replied,  as  coolly  as  if  she 
had  asked  him  to  pass  the  nuts. 

Not  so  much  as  a  sorry-to-lose-you  between 
them!     If  she  did  not  mind  the  parting,  he  was 


WENDY'S  STORY  169 

going  to  show  her,  was  Peter,  that  neither 
did  he. 

But  of  course  he  cared  very  much;  and  he 
was  so  full  of  wrath  against  grown-ups,  who, 
as  usual,  were  spoiling  everything,  that  as  soon 
as  he  got  inside  his  tree  he  breathed  intentionally 
quick  short  breaths  at  the  rate  of  about  five  to 
a  second.  He  did  this  because  there  is  a  saying 
in  the  Neverland  that,  every  time  you  breathe, 
a  grown-up  dies;  and  Peter  was  killing  them  off 
vindictively  as  fast  as  possible. 

Then  having  given  the  necessary  instructions 
to  the  redskins  he  returned  to  the  home,  where 
an  unworthy  scene  had  been  enacted  in  his 
absence.  Panic-stricken  at  the  thought  of 
losing  Wendy  the  lost  boys  had  advanced  upon 
her  threateningly. 

"It  will  be  worse  than  before  she  came,"  they 
cried. 

"We  shan't  let  her  go." 

"Let's  keep  her  prisoner." 

"Ay,  chain  her  up." 

In  her  extremity  an  instinct  told  her  to  which 
of  them  to  turn. 

"Tootles,"  she  cried,  "I  appeal  to  you." 


170  PETER  AND   WENDY 

Was  it  not  strange  ?  she  appealed  to  Tootles, 
quite  the  silliest  one. 

Grandly,  however,  did  Tootles  respond.  For 
that  one  moment  he  dropped  his  silliness  and 
spoke  with  dignity. 

"I  am  just  Tootles,"  he  said,  "and  nobody 
minds  me.  But  the  first  who  does  not  behave 
to  Wendy  like  an  English  gentleman  I  will 
blood  him  severely." 

He  drew  his  hanger;  and  for  that  instant  his 
sun  was  at  noon.  The  others  held  back  uneasily. 
Then  Peter  returned,  and  they  saw  at  once 
that  they  would  get  no  support  from  him.  He 
would  keep  no  girl  in  the  Neverland  against 
her  will. 

"Wendy,"  he  said,  striding  up  and  down,  "I 
have  asked  the  redskins  to  guide  you  through 
the  wood,  as  flying  tires  you  so." 

"Thank  you,  Peter." 

"Then,"  he  continued,  in  the  short  sharp  voice 
of  one  accustomed  to  be  obeyed,  "Tinker  Bell 
will  take  you  across  the  sea.     Wake  her.  Nibs." 

Nibs  had  to  knock  twice  before  he  got  an 
answer,  though  Tink  had  really  been  sitting  up 
in  bed  listening  for  some  time. 


WENDY'S  STORY  171 

"  Who  are  you  ?  How  dare  you  ?  Go  away," 
she  cried. 

**  You  are  to  get  up,  Tink,"  Nibs  called,  "  and 
take  Wendy  on  a  journey." 

Of  course  Tink  had  been  delighted  to  hear 
that  Wendy  was  going ;  but  she  was  jolly  well 
determined  not  to  be  her  courier,  and  she  said 
so  in  still  more  offensive  language.  Then  she 
pretended  to  be  asleep  again. 

"She  says  she  won't!"  Nibs  exclaimed,  aghast 
at  such  insubordination,  whereupon  Peter  went 
sternly  toward  the  young  lady's  chamber. 

"Tink,"  he  rapped  out,  *'if  you  don't  get  up 
and  dress  at  once  I  will  open  the  curtains,  and 
then  we  shall  all  see  you  in  your  negligee.^' 

This  made  her  leap  to  the  floor.  "Who  said 
I  wasn't  getting  up.'*"  she  cried. 

In  the  meantime  the  boys  were  gazing  very 
forlornly  at  Wendy,  now  equipped  with  John 
and  Michael  for  the  journey.  By  this  time  they 
were  dejected,  not  merely  because  they  were 
about  to  lose  her,  but  also  because  they  felt 
that  she  was  going  off  to  something  nice  to 
which  they  had  not  been  invited.  Novelty 
was  beckoning  to  them  as  usual. 


172  PETER  AND   WENDY 

Crediting  them  with  a  nobler  feehng  Wendy 
melted. 

"Dear  ones,"  she  said,  "if  you  will  all  come 
with  me  I  feel  almost  sure  I  can  get  my  father 
and  mother  to  adopt  you." 

The  invitation  was  meant  specially  for  Peter, 
but  each  of  the  boys  was  thinking  exclusivel}' 
of  himself,  and  at  once  they  jumped  with  joy. 

"But  won't  they  think  us  rather  a  handful.^" 
Nibs  asked  in  the  middle  of  his  jump. 

"Oh  no,"  said  Wendy,  rapidly  thinking  it  out, 
"it  will  only  mean  having  a  few  beds  in  the 
drawing-room;  they  can  be  hidden  behind 
screens  on  first  Thursdays." 

"Peter,  can  we  go  ?  "  they  all  cried  imploringly. 
They  took  it  for  granted  that  if  they  went  he 
would  go  also,  but  really  they  scarcely  cared. 
Thus  children  are  ever  ready,  when  novelty 
knocks,  to  desert  their  dearest  ones. 

"All  right,"  Peter  replied  with  a  bitter  smile,, 
and  immediately  they  rushed  to  get  their  things. 

"And  now,  Peter,"  Wendy  said,  thinking  she 
had  put  everything  right,  "I  am  going  to  give 
you  your  medicine  before  you  go."  She  loved 
to  give  them  medicine,  and  undoubtedly  gav« 


WENDY'S   STORY  173 

them  too  much.  Of  course  it  was  only  water, 
but  it  was  out  of  a  bottle,  and  she  always  shook 
the  bottle  and  counted  the  drops,  which  gave  it 
a  certain  medicinal  quality.  On  this  occasion, 
however,  she  did  not  give  Peter  his  draught,  for 
just  as  she  had  prepared  it,  she  saw  a  look  on  his 
face  that  made  her  heart  sink. 

*'  Get  your  things,  Peter,"  she  cried,  shaking. 

"No,"  he  answered,  pretending  indifference, 
"I  am  not  going  with  you,  Wendy." 

"Yes,  Peter." 

"No." 

To  show  that  her  departure  would  leave  him 
unmoved,  he  skipped  up  ana  down  the  room, 
playing  gaily  on  his  heartless  pipes.  She  had 
to  run  about  after  him,  though  it  was  rather 
undignified. 

"To  find  your  mother,"  she  coaxed. 

Now,  if  Peter  had  ever  quite  had  a  mother, 
he  no  longer  missed  her.  He  could  do  very 
well  without  one.  He  had  thought  them  out, 
and  remembered  only  their  bad  points. 

"No,  no,"  he  told  Wendy  decisively;  "perhaps 
she  would  say  I  was  old,  and  I  just  want  always 
to  be  a  little  boy  and  to  have  fun." 


174  PETER  AND   WENDY 

"But,  Peter " 

"No." 

And  so  the  others  had  to  be  told. 

"Peter  isn't  coming." 

Peter  not  coming!  They  gazed  blankly  at 
him,  their  sticks  over  their  backs,  and  on  each 
stick  a  bundle.  Their  first  thought  was  that 
if  Peter  was  not  going  he  had  probably  changed 
his  mind  about  letting  them  go. 

But  he  was  far  too  proud  for  that.  "If  you 
find  your  mothers,"  he  said  darkly,  "I  hope  you 
will  like  them." 

The  awful  cynicism  of  this  made  an  uncom- 
fortable impression,  and  most  of  them  began  to 
look  rather  doubtful.  After  all,  their  faces  said, 
were  they  not  noodles  to  want  to  go  ? 

"Now  then,"  cried  Peter,  "no  fuss,  no  blub- 
bering; good-bye  Wendy";  and  he  held  out  his 
hand  cheerily,  quite  as  if  they  must  really 
go  now,  for  he  had  something  important 
to  do. 

She  had  to  take  his  hand,  as  there  was  no 
indication  that  he  would  prefer  a  thimble. 

"You  will  remember  about  changing  your 
flannels,  Peter?"  she  said,  lingering  over  him. 


WENDY'S  STORY  175 

She  was  always  so  particular  about  their 
flannels. 

"Yes." 

"And  you  will  take  your  medicine?" 

"Yes." 

That  seemed  to  be  everything,  and  an  awkward 
pause  followed.  Peter,  however,  was  not  the 
kind  that  breaks  down  before  people.  "Are 
you  ready.  Tinker  Bell  ? "  he  called  out. 

"Ay!  ay!" 

"Then  lead  the  way." 

Tink  darted  up  the  nearest  tree;  but  no  one 
followed  her,  for  it  was  at  this  moment  that 
the  pirates  made  their  dreadful  attack  upon 
the  redskins.  Above,  where  all  had  been  so 
still,  the  air  was  rent  with  shrieks  and  the 
clash  of  steel.  Below,  there  was  dead  silence. 
Mouths  opened  and  remained  open.  Wendy 
fell  on  her  knees,  but  her  arms  were  extended 
toward  Peter.  All  arms  were  extended  to  him, 
as  if  suddenly  blown  in  his  direction;  they  were 
beseeching  him  mutely  not  to  desert  them. 
As  for  Peter,  he  seized  his  sword,  the  same  he 
thought  he  had  slain  Barbecue  with,  and  the 
lust  of  battle  was  in  his  eye. 


CHAPTER   XII 

THE   CHILDREN   ARE    CARRIED    OF? 

THE  pirate  attack  had  been  a  complete 
surprise:    a    sure    proof   that   the   un- 
scrupulous   Hook    had    conducted    it 
improperly,   for   to    surprise   redskins   fairly   is 
beyond  the  wit  of  the  white  man. 

By  all  the  unwritten  laws  of  savage  warfare 
it  is  always  the  redskin  who  attacks,  and  with 
the  wiliness  of  his  race  he  does  it  just  before 
the  dawn,  at  which  time  he  knows  the  courage 
of  the  whites  to  be  at  its  lowest  ebb.  The 
white  men  have  in  the  meantime  made  a  rude 
stockade  on  the  summit  of  yonder  undulating 
ground,  at  the  foot  of  which  a  stream  runs,  for 
it  is  destruction  to  be  too  far  from  water.  There 
they  await  the  onslaught,  the  inexperienced  ones 
clutching  their  revolvers  and  treading  on  twigs, 

176 


THE  CHILDREN  CARRIED  OFF    177 

but  the  old  hands  sleeping  tranquilly  until  just 
before  the  dawn.  Through  the  long  black  night 
the  savage  scouts  wriggle,  snake-like,  among  the 
grass  without  stirring  a  blade.  The  brushwood 
closes  behind  them  as  silently  as  sand  into  which 
a  mole  has  dived.  Not  a  sound  is  to  be  heard, 
save  when  they  give  vent  to  a  wonderful  imita- 
tion of  the  lonely  call  of  the  coyote.  The  cry 
is  answered  by  other  braves;  and  some  of  them 
do  it  even  better  than  the  coyotes,  who  are  not 
very  good  at  it.  So  the  chill  hours  wear  on, 
and  the  long  suspense  is  horribly  trying  to  the 
paleface  who  has  to  live  through  it  for  the  first 
time;  but  to  the  trained  hand  those  ghastly  calls 
and  still  ghastlier  silences  are  but  an  intimation 
of  how  the  night  is  marching. 

That  this  was  the  usual  procedure  was  so 
well-known  to  Hook  that  in  disregarding  it  he 
cannot  be  excused  on  the  plea  of  ignorance. 

The  Piccaninnies,  on  their  part,  trusted  im- 
plicitly to  his  honour,  and  their  whole  action  of 
the  night  stands  out  in  marked  contrast  to  his. 
They  left  nothing  undone  that  was  consistent 
with  the  reputation  of  their  tribe.  With  that 
alertness  of  the  senses  which  is  at  once  the 


178  PETER   AND   WENDY 

marvel  and  despair  of  civilised  peoples,  they 
knew  that  the  pirates  were  on  the  island  from 
the  moment  one  of  them  trod  on  a  dry  stick; 
and  in  an  incredibly  short  space  of  time  the 
coyote  cries  began.  Every  foot  of  ground 
between  the  spot  where  Hook  had  landed  his 
forces  and  the  home  under  the  trees  was 
stealthily  examined  by  braves  wearing  their 
mocassins  with  the  heels  in  front.  They  found 
only  one  hillock  with  a  stream  at  its  base,  so 
that  Hook  had  no  choice;  here  he  must  establish 
himself  and  wait  for  just  before  the  dawn. 
Everything  being  thus  mapped  out  with  almost 
diabolical  cunning,  the  main  body  of  the  red- 
skins folded  their  blankets  around  them,  and  in 
the  phlegmatic  manner  that  is  to  them  the 
pearl  of  manhood  squatted  above  the  children's 
home,  awaiting  the  cold  moment  when  they 
should  deal  pale  death. 

Here  dreaming,  though  wide-awake,  of  the 
exquisite  tortures  to  which  they  were  to  put 
him  at  break  of  day,  those  confiding  savages 
were  found  by  the  treacherous  Hook.  From 
the  accounts  afterwards  supplied  by  such  of  the 
scouts  as  escaped  the  carnage,  he  does  not  seem 


THE   CHILDREN   CARRIED   OFF    179 

even  to  have  paused  at  the  rising  ground, 
though  it  is  certain  that  in  that  grey  light  he 
must  have  seen  it:  no  thought  of  waiting  to  be 
attacked  appears  from  first  to  last  to  have  visited 
his  subtle  mind;  he  would  not  even  hold  off  till 
the  night  was  nearly  spent;  on  he  pounded  with 
no  policy  but  to  fall  to.  What  could  the 
bewildered  scouts  do,  masters  as  they  were  of 
every  war-like  artifice  save  this  one,  but  trot 
helplessly  after  him,  exposing  themselves  fatally 
to  view,  the  while  they  gave  pathetic  utterance 
to  the  coyote  cry. 

Around  the  brave  Tiger  Lily  were  a  dozen  of 
her  stoutest  warriors,  and  they  suddenly  saw  the 
perfidious  pirates  bearing  down  upon  them. 
Fell  from  their  eyes  then  the  film  through  which 
they  had  looked  at  victory.  No  more  would 
they  torture  at  the  stake.  For  them  the  happy 
hunting-grounds  now.  They  knew  it;  but  as 
their  fathers'  sons  they  acquitted  themselves. 
Even  then  they  had  time  to  gather  in  a  phalanx 
that  would  have  been  hard  to  break  had  they 
risen  quickly,  but  this  they  were  forbidden  to  do 
by  the  traditions  of  their  race.  It  is  written 
that  the  noble  savage  must  never  express  sur- 


180  PETER  AND   WENDY 

prise  in  the  presence  of  the  white.  Thus  terrible 
as  the  sudden  appearance  of  the  pirates  must 
have  been  to  them,  they  remained  stationary  for 
a  moment,  not  a  muscle  moving;  as  if  the  foe 
had  come  by  invitation.  Then,  indeed,  the 
tradition  gallantly  upheld,  they  seized  their 
weapons,  and  the  air  was  torn  with  the  war-cry; 
but  it  was  now  too  late. 

It  is  no  part  of  ours  to  describe  what  was  a 
massacre  rather  than  a  fight.  Thus  perished 
many  of  the  flower  of  the  Piccaninny  tribe. 
Not  all  unavenged  did  they  die,  for  with  Lean 
Wolf  fell  Alf  Mason,  to  disturb  the  Spanish 
Main  no  more,  and  among  others  who  bit  the 
dust  were  Geo.  Scourie,  Chas.  Turley,  and  the 
Alsatian  Foggerty.  Turley  fell  to  the  toma- 
hawk of  the  terrible  Panther,  who  ultimately 
cut  a  way  through  the  pirates  with  Tiger  Lily 
and  a  small  remnant  of  the  tribe. 

To  what  extent  Hook  is  to  blame  for  his 
tactics  on  this  occasion  is  for  the  historian  to 
decide.  Had  he  waited  on  the  rising  ground  till 
the  proper  hour  he  and  his  men  would  probably 
have  been  butchered;  and  in  judging  him  it  is 
only  fair  to  take  this  into  account.     What  he 


THE   CHILDREN   CARRIED   OFF    181 

should  perhaps  have  done  was  to  acquaint  his 
opponents  that  he  proposed  to  follow  a  new 
method.  On  the  other  hand  this,  as  destroying 
the  element  of  surprise,  would  have  made  his 
strategy  of  no  avail,  so  that  the  whole  question 
is  beset  with  difficulties.  One  cannot  at  least 
withhold  a  reluctant  admiration  for  the  wit  that 
had  conceived  so  bold  a  scheme,  and  the  fell 
genius  with  which  it  was  carried  out. 

What  were  his  own  feelings  about  himself 
at  that  triumphant  moment.^  Fain  would  his 
dogs  have  known,  as  breathing  heavily  and 
wiping  their  cutlasses,  they  gathered  at  a  discreet 
distance  from  his  hook,  and  squinted  through 
their  ferret  eyes  at  this  extraordinary  man. 
Elation  must  have  been  in  his  heart,  but  his  face 
did  not  reflect  it:  ever  a  dark  and  solitary 
enigma,  he  stood  aloof  from  his  followers  in 
spirit  as  in  substance. 

The  night's  work  was  not  yet  over,  for  it  was 
not  the  redskins  he  had  come  out  to  destroy; 
they  were  but  the  bees  to  be  smoked,  so  that  he 
should  get  at  the  honey.  It  was  Pan  he  wanted. 
Pan  and  Wendy  and  their  band,  but  chiefly 
Pan. 


182  PETER  AND   WENDY 

Peter  was  such  a  small  boy  that  one  tends 
to  wonder  at  the  man's  hatred  of  him.  True  he 
had  flung  Hook's  arm  to  the  crocodile,  but  even 
this  and  the  increased  insecurity  of  life  to  which 
it  led,  owing  to  the  crocodile's  pertinacity,  hardly 
account  for  a  vindictiveness  so  relentless  and 
malignant.  The  truth  is  that  there  was  a  some^ 
thing  about  Peter  which  goaded  the  pirate 
captain  to  frenzy.  It  was  not  his  courage,  it 
was  not  his  engaging  appearance,  it  was  not — . 
There  is  no  beating  about  the  bush,  for  we  know 
quite  well  what  it  was,  and  have  got  to  tell.  It 
was  Peter's  cockiness. 

This  had  got  on  Hook's  nerves;  it  made  his 
iron  claw  twitch,  and  at  night  it  disturbed  him 
like  an  insect.  While  Peter  lived,  the  tortured 
man  felt  that  he  was  a  lion  in  a  cage  into  which 
a  sparrow  had  come. 

The  question  now  was  how  to  get  down  the 
trees,  or  how  to  get  his  dogs  down  ?  He  ran 
his  greedy  eyes  over  them,  searching  for  the 
thinnest  ones.  They  wriggled  uncomfortably, 
for  they  knew  he  would  not  scruple  to  ram  them 
down  with  poles. 

In   the   meantime,   what   of   the   boys?     We 


THE   CHILDREN   CARRIED   OFF    183 

have  seen  them  at  the  first  clang  of  weapons, 
turned  as  it  were  into  stone  figures,  open- 
mouthed,  all  appealing  with  outstretched  arms 
to  Peter;  and  we  return  to  them  as  their  mouths 
close,  and  their  arms  fall  to  their  sides.  The 
pandemonium  above  has  ceased  almost  as  sud- 
denly as  it  arose,  passed  like  a  fierce  gust  of 
wind;  but  they  know  that  in  the  passing  it  has 
determined  their  fate. 

Which  side  had  won  ? 

The  pirates,  listening  avidly  at  the  mouths  of 
the  trees,  heard  the  question  put  by  every  boy, 
and  alas,  they  also  heard  Peter's  answer. 

"If  the  redskins  have  won,"  he  said,  "they 
will  beat  the  tom-tom;  it  is  always  their  sign  of 
victory." 

Now  Smee  had  found  the  tom-tom,  and 
was  at  that  moment  sitting  on  it.  "You  will 
never  hear  the  tom-tom  again,"  he  muttered,  but 
inaudibly  of  course,  for  strict  silence  had  been 
enjoined.  To  his  amazement  Hook  signed  to 
him  to  beat  the  tom-tom,  and  slowly  there  came 
to  Smee  an  understanding  of  the  dreadful 
wickedness  of  the  order.  Never,  probably,  had 
this  simple  man  admired  Hook  so  much. 


184  PETER  AND   WENDY 

Twice  Smee  beat  upon  the  instrument,  and 
then  stopped  to  listen  gleefully. 

"The  tom-tom,"  the  miscreants  heard  Peter 
cry;  "an  Indian  victory!" 

The  doomed  children  answered  with  a  cheer 
that  was  music  to  the  black  hearts  above,  and 
almost  immediately  they  repeated  their  good- 
byes to  Peter.  This  puzzled  the  pirates,  but 
all  their  other  feelings  were  swallowed  by  a  base 
delight  that  the  enemy  were  about  to  come  up 
the  trees.  They  smirked  at  each  other  and 
rubbed  their  hands.  Rapidly  and  silently  Hook 
gave  liis  orders:  one  man  to  each  tree,  and  the 
others  to  arrange  themselves  in  a  line  two  yards 
apart. 


T 


CHAPTER    XIII 

DO   YOU   BELIEVE   IN   FAIRIES? 

HE  more  quickly  this  horror  is  disposed 
of  the  better.  The  first  to  emerge 
from  his  tree  was  Curly.  He  rose  out 
of  it  into  the  arms  of  Cecco,  who  flung  him 
to  Smee,  who  flung  him  to  Starkey,  who  flung 
him  to  Bill  Jukes,  who  flung  him  to  Noodler, 
and  so  he  was  tossed  from  one  to  another  till 
he  fell  at  the  feet  of  the  black  pirate.  All 
the  boys  were  plucked  from  their  trees  in 
this  ruthless  manner;  and  several  of  them 
were  in  the  air  at  a  time,  like  bales  of  goods 
flung  from  hand  to  hand. 

A  different  treatment  was  accorded  to 
Wendy,  who  came  last.  With  ironical  polite- 
ness Hook  raised  his  hat  to  her,  and,  offering 
her  his  arm,  escorted  her  to  the  spot  where  the 

1S5 


186  PETER  AND   WENDY 

others  were  being  gagged.  He  did  it  with  such 
an  air,  he  was  so  frightfully  distingue,  that  she 
was  too  fascinated  to  cry  out.  She  was  only 
a  little  girl. 

Perhaps  it  is  tell-tale  to  divulge  that  for  a 
moment  Hook  entranced  her,  and  we  tell  on 
her  only  because  her  slip  led  to  strange  results. 
Had  she  haughtily  unhanded  him  (and  we 
should  have  loved  to  write  it  of  her),  she  would 
have  been  hurled  through  the  air  like  the  others, 
and  then  Hook  would  probably  not  have  been 
present  at  the  tying  of  the  children;  and  had  he 
not  been  at  the  tying  he  would  not  have  dis- 
covered Slightly' s  secret,  and  without  the  secret 
he  could  not  presently  have  made  his  foul 
attempt  on  Peter's  life. 

They  were  tied  to  prevent  their  flying  away, 
doubled  up  with  their  knees  close  to  their  ears; 
and  for  this  job  the  black  pirate  had  cut  a  rope 
into  nine  equal  pieces.  All  went  well  with 
the  trussing  until  Slightly's  turn  came,  when 
he  was  found  to  be  like  those  irritating  parcels 
that  use  up  all  the  string  in  going  round  and 
leave  no  tags  with  which  to  tie  a  knot.  The 
pirates  kicked  him  in  their  rage,  just  as  you 


DO   YOU  BELIEVE  IN   FAIRIES?  187 

kick  the  parcel  (though  in  fairness  you  should 
kick  the  string) ;  and  strange  to  say  it  was  Hook 
who  told  them  to  belay  their  violence.  His  lip 
was  curled  with  malicious  triumph.  While 
his  dogs  were  merely  sweating  because  every 
time  they  tried  to  pack  the  unhappy  lad 
tight  in  one  part  he  bulged  out  in  another. 
Hook's  master  mind  had  gone  far  beneath 
Slightly' s  surface,  probing  not  for  effects  but 
for  causes;  and  his  exultation  showed  that  he 
had  found  them.  Slightly,  white  to  the  gills, 
knew  that  Hook  had  surprised  his  secret,  which 
was  this,  that  no  boy  so  blown  out  could  use 
a  tree  wherein  an  average  man  need  stick. 
Poor  Slightly,  most  wretched  of  all  the  children 
now,  for  he  was  in  a  panic  about  Peter,  bitterly 
regretted  what  he  had  done.  Madly  addicted 
to  the  drinking  of  water  when  he  was  hot,  he 
had  swelled  in  consequence  to  his  present  girth, 
and  instead  of  reducing  himself  to  fit  his  tree 
he  had,  unknown  to  the  others,  whittled  his 
tree  to  make  it  fit  him. 

Sufficient  of  this  Hook  guessed  to  persuade 
him  that  Peter  at  last  lay  at  his  mercy,  but  no 
word  of  the  dark  design  that  now  formed  in 


188  PETER  AND   WENDY 

the  subterranean  caverns  of  his  mind  crossed 
his  lips;  he  merely  signed  that  the  captives 
were  to  be  conveyed  to  the  ship,  and  that  he 
would  be  alone. 

How  to  convey  them  ?  Hunched  up  in  their 
ropes  they  might  indeed  be  rolled  down  hill 
like  barrels,  but  most  of  the  way  lay  through 
a  morass.  Again  Hook's  genius  surmounted 
diflSculties.  He  indicated  that  the  little  house 
must  be  used  as  a  conveyance.  The  children 
were  flung  into  it,  four  stout  pirates  raised  it  on 
their  shoulders,  the  others  fell  in  behind,  and 
singing  the  hateful  pirate  chorus  the  strange 
procession  set  off  through  the  wood.  I  don't 
know  whether  any  of  the  children  were  crying; 
if  so,  the  singing  drowned  the  sound;  but  as  the 
little  house  disappeared  in  the  forest,  a  brave 
though  tiny  jet  of  smoke  issued  from  its  chim- 
ney as  if  defying  Hook. 

Hook  saw  it,  and  it  did  Peter  a  bad  service. 
It  dried  up  any  trickle  of  pity  for  him  that 
may  have  remained  in  the  pirate's  infuriated 
breast. 

The  first  thing  he  did  on  finding  himself  alone 
in  the  fast  falling  night  was  to  tiptoe  to  Slightly' s 


DO  YOU  BELIEVE  IN  FAIRIES?  189 

tree,  and  make  sure  that  it  provided  him  with 
a  passage.  Then  for  long  he  remained  brood- 
ing; his  hat  of  ill  omen  on  the  sward,  so  that 
a  gentle  breeze  which  had  arisen  might  play 
refreshingly  through  his  hair.  Dark  as  were 
his  thoughts  his  blue  eyes  were  as  soft  as  the 
periwinkle.  Intently  he  listened  for  any  sound 
from  the  nether  world,  but  all  was  as  silent 
below  as  above;  the  house  under  the  ground 
seemed  to  be  but  one  more  empty  tenement  in 
the  void.  Was  that  boy  asleep,  or  did  he  stand 
waiting  at  the  foot  of  Slightly's  tree,  with  his 
dagger  in  his  hand  ? 

There  was  no  way  of  knowing,  save  by  going 
down.  Hook  let  his  cloak  slip  softly  to  the 
ground,  and  then  biting  his  lips  till  a  lewd  blood 
stood  on  them,  he  stepped  into  the  tree.  He 
was  a  brave  man,  but  for  a  moment  he  had  to 
stop  there  and  wipe  his  brow,  which  was  drip- 
ping like  a  candle.  Then  silently  he  let  himself 
go  into  the  unknown. 

He  arrived  unmolested  at  the  foot  of  the 
shaft,  and  stood  still  again,  biting  at  his  breath, 
which  had  almost  left  him.  As  his  eyes  became 
accustomed  to  the  dim  light  various  objects  in 


190  PETER  AND   WENDY 

the  home  under  the  trees  took  shape;  but  the 
only  one  on  which  his  greedy  gaze  rested,  long 
sought  for  and  found  at  last,  was  the  great  bed. 
On  the  bed  lay  Peter  fast  asleep. 
1  Unaware  of  the  tragedy  being  enacted  above, 
Peter  had  continued,  for  a  little  time  after  the 
children  left,  to  play  gaily  on  his  pipes:  no 
doubt  rather  a  forlorn  attempt  to  prove  to  him- 
seK  that  he  did  not  care.  Then  he  decided 
not  to  take  his  medicine,  so  as  to  grieve  Wendy. 
Then  he  lay  down  on  the  bed  outside  the  cover- 
let, to  vex  her  still  more;  for  she  had  always 
tucked  them  inside  it,  because  you  never  know 
that  you  may  not  grow  chilly  at  the  turn  of  the 
night.  Then  he  nearly  cried;  but  it  struck  him 
how  indignant  she  would  be  if  he  laughed 
instead;  so  he  laughed  a  haughty  laugh  and  fell 
asleep  in  the  middle  of  it. 

Sometimes,  though  not  often,  he  had  dreams, 
and  they  were  more  painful  than  the  dreams  of 
other  boys.  For  hours  he  could  not  be  separated 
from  these  dreams,  though  he  wailed  piteously 
in  them.  They  had  to  do,  I  think,  with  the 
riddle  of  his  existence.  At  such  times  it  had 
been  Wendy's  custom  to  take  him  out  of  bed 


DO  YOU  BELIEVE  IN  FAIRIES?  191 

and  sit  with  him  on  her  lap,  soothing  him  in 
dear  ways  of  her  own  invention,  and  when  he 
grew  calmer  to  put  him  back  to  bed  before  he 
quite  woke  up,  so  that  he  should  not  know  of 
the  indignity  to  which  she  had  subjected  him. 
But  on  this  occasion  he  had  fallen  at  once  into 
a  dreamless  sleep.  One  arm  dropped  over  the 
edge  of  the  bed,  one  leg  was  arched,  and  the 
unfinished  part  of  his  laugh  was  stranded  on 
his  mouth,  which  was  open,  showing  the  little 
pearls. 

Thus  defenceless  Hook  found  him.  He 
stood  silent  at  the  foot  of  the  tree  looking 
across  the  chamber  at  his  enemy.  Did  no 
feeling  of  compassion  stir  his  sombre  breast? 
The  man  was  not  wholly  evil;  he  loved  flowers 
(I  have  been  told)  and  sweet  music  (he  was  him- 
self no  mean  performer  on  the  harpsichord) ;  and, 
let  it  be  frankly  admitted,  the  idyllic  nature 
of  the  scene  shook  him  profoundly.  Mastered 
by  his  better  self  he  would  have  returned 
reluctantly  up  the  tree,  but  for  one  thing. 

What  stayed  him  was  Peter's  impertinent 
appearance  as  he  slept.  The  open  mouth,  the 
drooping    <irm,    the    arched    knee:    they    were 


192  PETER  AND   WENDY 

such  a  personification  of  cockiness  as,  taken 
together,  will  never  again  one  may  hope  be 
presented  to  eyes  so  sensitive  to  their  offensive- 
ness.  They  steeled  Hook's  heart.  If  his  rage 
had  broken  him  into  a  hundred  pieces  every  one 
of  them  would  have  disregarded  the  incident, 
and  leapt  at  the  sleeper. 

Though  a  light  from  the  one  lamp  shone 
dimly  on  the  bed  Hook  stood  in  darkness 
himself,  and  at  the  first  stealthy  step  forward 
he  discovered  an  obstacle,  the  door  of  Slightly's 
tree.  It  did  not  entirely  fill  the  aperture,  and 
he  had  been  looking  over  it.  Feeling  for  the 
catch,  he  found  to  his  fury  that  it  was  low 
down,  beyond  his  reach.  To  his  disordered 
brain  it  seemed  then  that  the  irritating  quality 
in  Peter's  face  and  figure  visibly  increased,  and 
he  rattled  the  door  and  flung  himself  against  it. 
Was  his  enemy  to  escape  him  after  all. 

But  what  was  that  ?  The  red  in  his  eye  had 
caught  sight  of  Peter's  medicine  standing  on  a 
ledge  within  easy  reach.  He  fathomed  what  it 
was  straightway,  and  immediately  he  knew  that 
the  sleeper  was  in  his  power. 

Lest  he  should  be  taken  alive,  Hook  alway 


DO   YOU  BELIEVE  IN   FAIRIES?  193 

carried  about  his  person  a  dreadful  drug,  blended 
by  himself  of  all  the  death-dealing  rings  that 
had  come  into  his  possession.  These  he  had 
boiled  down  into  a  yellow  liquid  quite  unknown 
to  science,  which  was  probably  the  most  virulent 
poison  in  existence. 

Five  drops  of  this  he  now  added  to  Peter's 
cup.  His  hand  shook,  but  it  was  in  exultation 
rather  than  in  shame.  As  he  did  it  he  avoided 
glancing  at  the  sleeper,  but  not  lest  pity  should 
unnerve  him;  merely  to  avoid  spilling.  Then 
one  long  gloating  look  he  cast  upon  his  victim, 
and  turning,  wormed  his  way  with  difficulty  up 
the  tree.  As  he  emerged  at  the  top  he  looked 
the  very  spirit  of  evil  breaking  from  its  hole. 
Donning  his  hat  at  its  most  rakish  angle,  he 
wound  his  cloak  around  him,  holding  one  end 
in  front  as  if  to  conceal  his  person  from  the 
night,  of  which  it  was  the  blackest  part,  and 
muttering  strangely  to  himself  stole  away 
through  the  trees. 

Peter  slept  on.  The  light  guttered  and  went 
out,  leaving  the  tenement  in  darkness;  but  still 
he  slept.  It  must  have  been  not  less  than  ten 
o'clock  by  the  crocodile,  when  he  suddenly  sat 


194  PETER  AND   WENDY 

up  in  his  bed,  wakened  by  he  knew  not  what. 
It  was  a  soft  cautious  tapping  on  the  door  of 
his  tree. 

Soft  and  cautious,  but  in  that  stillness  it  was 
sinister.  Peter  felt  for  his  dagger  till  his  hand 
gripped  it.     Then  he  spoke. 

"Who  is  that.?" 

For  long  there  was  no  answer:  then  again 
the  knock. 

"Who  are  you.?" 

No  answer. 

He  was  thrilled,  and  he  loved  being  thrilled. 
In  two  strides  he  reached  his  door.  Unlike 
Slightly's  door  it  filled  the  aperture,  so  that 
he  could  not  see  beyond  it,  nor  could  the  one 
knocking  see  him. 

*'I  won't  open  unless  you  speak,"  Peter  cried. 

Then  at  last  the  visitor  spoke,  in  a  lovely  bell- 
like voice. 

"Let  me  in,  Peter." 

It  was  Tink,  and  quickly  he  unbarred  to  her. 
She  flew  in  excitedly,  her  face  flushed  and  her 
dress  stained  with  mud. 

"What  is  it.?" 

"Oh,  you  could  never  guess!"  she  cried,  and 


DO   YOU   BELIEVE   IN   FAIRIES?   195 

offered  him  three  guesses.  "Out  with  it!"  he 
shouted,  and  in  one  ungrammatical  sentence,  as 
long  as  the  ribbons  conjurers  pull  from  their 
mouths,  she  told  of  the  capture  of  Wendy  and 
the  boys. 

Peter's  heart  bobbed  up  and  down  as  he 
listened.  Wendy  bound,  and  on  the  pirate 
ship;  she  who  loved  everything  to  be  just  so! 

"I  '11  rescue  her!"  he  cried,  leaping  at  his 
weapons.  As  he  leapt  he  thought  of  some- 
thing he  could  do  to  please  her.  He  could 
take  his  medicine. 

His  hand  closed  on  the  fatal  draught. 

"No!"  shrieked  Tinker  Bell,  who  had  heard 
Hook  muttering  about  his  deed  as  he  sped 
through  the  forest. 

"Why  not.?" 

"It  is  poisoned." 

"Poisoned!  Who  could  have  poisoned  it.'^" 

"Hook." 

"Don't  be  silly.  How  could  Hook  have  got 
down  here?" 

Alas,  Tinker  Bell  could  not  explain  this,  for 
even  she  did  not  know  the  dark  secret  of 
Slightly's     tree.      Nevertheless     Hook's    words 


196  PETER  AND   WENDY 

had  left  no  room  for  doubt.  The  cup  was 
poisoned. 

"Besides,"  said  Peter,  quite  beheving  himself, 
*' I  never  fell  asleep." 

He  raised  the  cup.  No  time  for  words  now; 
time  for  deeds,  and  with  one  of  her  lightning 
movements  Tink  got  between  his  lips  and  the 
draught,  and  drained  it  to  the  dregs. 

"Why,  Tink,  how  dare  you  drink  my 
medicine  ?  " 

But  she  did  not  answer.  Already  she  was 
reeling  in  the  air. 

"What  is  the  matter  with  you.^"  cried  Peter, 
suddenly  afraid. 

"It  was  poisoned,  Peter,"  she  told  him  softly; 
"and  now  I  am  going  to  be  dead." 

"O  Tink,  did  you  drink  it  to  save  me?" 

"Yes." 

"But  why,  Tink.?" 

Her  wings  would  scarcely  carry  her  now,  but 
in  reply  she  alighted  on  his  shoulder  and  gave 
his  nose  a  loving  bite.  She  whispered  in  his 
ear  "you  silly  ass,"  and  then,  tottering  to  her 
chamber,  lay  down  on  the  bed. 

His  head  almost  filled  the  fourth  wall  of  her 


DO  YOU  BELIEVE  IN   FAIRIES?  197 

little  room  as  he  knelt  near  her  in  distress. 
Every  moment  her  light  was  growing  fainter; 
and  he  knew  that  if  it  went  out  she  would  be 
no  more.  She  liked  his  tears  so  much  that 
she  put  out  her  beautiful  finger  and  let  them 
run  over  it. 

Her  voice  was  so  low  that  at  first  he  could 
not  make  out  what  she  said.  Then  he  made  it 
out.  She  was  saying  that  she  thought  she 
could  get  well  again  if  children  believed  in  fairies. 

Peter  flung  out  his  arms.  There  were  no 
children  there,  and  it  was  night  time;  but  he 
addressed  all  who  might  be  dreaming  of  the 
Neverland,  and  who  were  therefore  nearer  to 
him  than  you  think:  boys  and  girls  in  their 
nighties,  and  naked  papooses  in  their  baskets 
hung  from  trees. 

"Do  you  believe?"  he  cried. 

Tink  sat  up  in  bed  almost  briskly  to  listen  to 
her  fate. 

She  fancied  she  heard  answers  in  the  aflSrma- 
tive,  and  then  again  she  wasn't  sure. 

*'  What  do  you  think  ?  "  she  asked  Peter. 

*'If  you  believe,"  he  shouted  to  them,  *'clap 
your  hands;  don't  let  Tink  die." 


198  PETER  AND   WENDY 

Many  clapped. 

Some  didn't. 

A  few  little  beasts  hissed. 

The  clapping  stopped  suddenly;  as  if  count- 
less mothers  had  rushed  to  their  nurseries  to 
see  what  on  earth  was  happening;  but  already 
Tink  was  saved.  First  her  voice  grew  strong, 
then  she  popped  out  of  bed,  then  she  was 
flashing  through  the  room  more  merry  and 
impudent  than  ever.  She  never  thought  of 
thanking  those  who  believed,  but  she  would 
have  liked  to  get  at  the  ones  who  had  hissed. 

"And  now  to  rescue  Wendy!" 

The  moon  was  riding  in  a  cloudy  heaven 
when  Peter  rose  from  his  tree,  begirt  with 
weapons  and  wearing  little  else,  to  set  out  upon 
his  perilous  quest.  It  was  not  such  a  night  as 
he  would  have  chosen.  He  had  hoped  to  fly, 
keeping  not  far  from  the  ground  so  that  nothing 
unwonted  should  escape  his  eyes;  but  in  that 
fitful  light  to  have  flown  low  would  have  meant 
trailing  his  shadow  through  the  trees,  thus  dis- 
turbing the  birds  and  acquainting  a  watchful 
foe  that  he  was  astir. 

He  regretted  now  that  he  had  given  the  birds 


DO  YOU  BELIEVE  IN  FAIRIES?  199 

of  the  island  such  strange  names  that  they  are 
very  wild  and  difficult  of  approach. 

There  was  no  other  course  but  to  press  for- 
ward in  redskin  fashion,  at  which  happily  he 
was  an  adept.  But  in  what  direction,  for  he 
could  not  be  sure  that  the  children  had  been 
taken  to  the  ship.^  A  slight  fall  of  snow  had 
obliterated  all  footmarks;  and  a  deathly  silence 
pervaded  the  island,  as  if  for  a  space  Nature 
stood  still  in  horror  of  the  recent  carnage.  He 
had  taught  the  children  something  of  the  forest 
lore  that  he  had  himself  learned  from  Tiger 
Lily  and  Tinker  Bell,  and  knew  that  in  their 
dire  hour  they  were  not  likely  to  forget  it. 
Slightly,  if  he  had  an  opportunity,  would  blaze 
the  trees,  for  instance.  Curly  would  drop  seeds, 
and  Wendy  would  leave  her  handkerchief  at 
some  important  place.  But  morning  was 
needed  to  search  for  such  guidance,  and  he 
could  not  wait.  The  upper  world  had  called 
him,  but  would  give  no  help. 

The  crocodile  passed  him,  but  not  another 
living  thing,  not  a  sound,  not  a  movement;  and 
yet  he  knew  well  that  sudden  death  might  be 
at  the  next  tree,  or  stalking  him  from  behind. 


200  PETER  AND   WENDY 

He  swore  this  terrible  oath:  "Hook  or  me 
this  time." 

Now  he  crawled  forward  like  a  snake;  and 
again,  erect,  he  darted  across  a  space  on  which 
the  moonlight  played,  one  finger  on  his  lip  and 
his  dagger  at  the  ready.  He  was  frightfully 
happy. 


CHAPTER    XIV 

THE    PIRATE    SHIP 

ONE  green  light  squinting  over  Kidd's 
Creek,  which  is  near  the  mouth  of 
the  pirate  river,  marked  where  the 
brig,  the  Jolly  Roger,  lay,  low  in  the  water;  a 
rakish-looking  craft  foul  to  the  hull,  every  beam 
in  her  detestable  like  ground  strewn  with 
mangled  feathers.  She  was  the  cannibal  of  the 
seas,  and  scarce  needed  that  watchful  eye,  for 
she  floated  immune  in  the  horror  of  her  name. 
She  was  wrapped  in  the  blanket  of  night, 
through  which  no  sound  from  her  could  have 
reached  the  shore.  There  was  little  sound,  and 
none  agreeable  save  the  whir  of  the  ship's 
sewing  machine  at  which  Smee  sat,  ever  in- 
dustrious and  obliging,  the  essence  of  the 
commonplace,  pathetic  Smee.     I  know  not  why 

201 


202  PETER  AND   WENDY 

he  was  so  infinitely  pathetic,  unless  it  were 
because  he  was  so  pathetically  unaware  of  it; 
but  even  strong  men  had  to  turn  hastily  from 
looking  at  him,  and  more  than  once  on  summer 
evenings  he  had  touched  the  fount  of  Hook's 
tears  and  made  it  flow.  Of  this,  as  of  almost 
everything  else,  Smee  was  quite  unconscious. 

A  few  of  the  pirates  leant  over  the  bulwarks 
drinking  in  the  miasma  of  the  night;  others 
sprawled  by  barrels  over  games  of  dice  and 
cards;  and  the  exhausted  four  who  had  carried 
the  little  house  lay  prone  on  the  deck,  where 
even  in  their  sleep  they  rolled  skilfully  to  this 
side  or  that  out  of  Hook's  reach,  lest  he  should 
claw  them  mechanically  in  passing. 

Hook  trod  the  deck  in  thought.  O  man 
unfathomable.  It  was  his  hour  of  triumph. 
Peter  had  been  removed  for  ever  from  his  path, 
and  all  the  other  boys  were  on  the  brig,  about 
to  walk  the  plank.  It  was  his  grimmest  deed 
since  the  days  when  he  had  brought  Barbecue 
to  heel;  and  knowing  as  we  do  how  vain  a 
tabernacle  is  man,  could  we  be  surprised  had 
he  now  paced  the  deck  unsteadily,  bellied  out 
by  the  winds  of  his  success? 


THE  PIRATE  SHIP  203 

But  there  was  no  elation  in  his  gait,  which 
kept  pace  with  the  action  of  his  sombre  mind. 
Hook  was  profoundly  dejected. 

He  was  often  thus  when  communing  with 
himself  on  board  ship  in  the  quietude  of  the 
night.  It  was  because  he  was  so  terribly  alone. 
This  inscrutable  man  never  felt  more  alone  than 
when  surrounded  by  his  dogs.  They  were  socially 
so  inferior  to  him. 

Hook  was  not  his  true  name.  To  reveal 
who  he  really  was  would  even  at  this  date  set 
the  country  in  a  blaze;  but  as  those  who  read 
between  the  lines  must  already  have  guessed, 
he  had  been  at  a  famous  public  school;  and  its 
traditions  still  clung  to  him  like  garments,  with 
which  indeed  they  are  largely  concerned.  Thus 
it  was  offensive  to  him  even  now  to  board 
a  ship  in  the  same  dress  in  which  he  grappled 
her,  and  he  still  adhered  in  his  walk  to  the 
school's  distinguished  slouch.  But  above  all 
he  retained  the  passion  for  good  form. 

Good  form!  However  much  he  may  have 
degenerated,  he  still  knew  that  this  is  all  that 
really  matters. 

From  far  within  him  he  heard  a  creaking  as 


204  PETER  AND   WENDY 

of  rusty  portals,  and  through  them  came  a  stern 
tap-tap-tap,  Hke  hammering  in  the  night  when 
one  cannot  sleep.  *'Have  you  been  good  form 
to-day?"  was  their  eternal  question. 

"Fame,  fame,  that  glittering  bauble,  it  is 
mine!"  he  cried. 

"Is  it  quite  good  form  to  be  distinguished 
at  anything?"  the  tap-tap  from  his  school 
replied. 

"I  am  the  only  man  whom  Barbecue  feared," 
he  urged,  "and  Flint  himself  feared  Barbecue." 

"Barbecue,  Flint — what  house?"  came  the 
cutting  retort. 

Most  disquieting  reflection  of  all,  was  it  not 
bad  form  to  think  about  good  form  ? 

His  vitals  were  tortured  by  this  problem.  It 
was  a  claw  within  him  sharper  than  the  iron 
one;  and  as  it  tore  him,  the  perspiration 
dripped  down  his  tallow  countenance  and 
streaked  his  doublet.  Ofttimes  he  drew  his 
sleeve  across  his  face,  but  there  was  no  dam- 
ming that  trickle. 

Ah,  envy  not  Hook. 

There  came  to  him  a  presentiment  of  his  early 
dissolution.     It  was  as  if  Peter's  terrible  oath 


THE  PIRATE  SHIP  205 

had  boarded  the  ship.  Hook  felt  a  gloomy  desire 
to  make  his  dying  speech,  lest  presently  there 
should  be  no  time  for  it. 

"Better  for  Hook,"  he  cried,  "if  he  had  had 
less  ambition!"  It  was  in  his  darkest  hours 
only  that  he  referred  to  himself  in  the  third 
person. 

*'No  little  children  love  me!" 

Strange  that  he  should  think  of  this,  which 
had  never  troubled  him  before;  perhaps  the 
sewing  machine  brought  it  to  his  mind.  For 
long  he  muttered  to  himself,  staring  at  Smee, 
who  was  henmiing  placidly,  under  the  convic- 
tion that  all  children  feared  him. 

Feared  him!  Feared  Smee!  There  was  not 
a  child  on  board  the  brig  that  night  who  did  not 
already  love  him.  He  had  said  horrid  things  to 
them  and  hit  them  with  the  palm  of  his  hand, 
because  he  could  not  hit  with  his  fist,  but  they 
had  only  clung  to  him  the  more.  Michael  had 
tried  on  his  spectacles. 

To  tell  poor  Smee  that  they  thought  him 
lovable!  Hooked  itched  to  do  it,  but  it  seemed 
too  brutal.  Instead,  he  revolved  this  mystery 
in  his  mind:  why  do  they  find  Smee  lovable? 


206  PETER  AND   WENDY 

He  pursued  tlie  problem  like  the  sleuth-hound 
that  he  was.  If  Smee  was  lovable,  what  was  it 
that  made  him  so  ?  A  terrible  answer  suddenly 
presented  itself — *'  Good  form  ?  " 

Had  the  bo' sun  good  form  without  knowing 
it,  which  is  the  best  form  of  all  ? 

He  remembered  that  you  have  to  prove  you 
don't  know  you  have  it  before  you  are  eligible 
for  Pop. 

With  a  cry  of  rage  he  raised  his  iron  hand 
over  Smee's  head;  but  he  did  not  tear.  Wliat 
arrested  him  was  this  reflection: 

"  To  claw  a  man  because  he  is  good  form,  what 
would  that  be?" 

"Bad  form!" 

The  unhappy  Hook  was  as  impotent  as  he 
was  damp,  and  he  fell  forward  like  a  cut  flower. 

His  dogs  thinking  him  out  of  the  way  for 
a  time,  discipline  instantly  relaxed;  and  thev 
broke  into  a  bacchanalian  dance,  which  brought 
him  to  his  feet  at  once,  all  traces  of  human 
weakness  gone,  as  if  a  bucket  of  water  had 
passed  over  him. 

** Quiet,  you  scugs,"  he  cried,  "or  I  '11  cast 
anchor  in  you  " ;  and  at  once  the  din  was  hushed. 


THE   PIRATE   SHIP  207 

"Are  all  the  children  chained,  so  that  they 
cannot  fly  away?'* 

"Ay,ay."_ 

"Then  hoist  them  up." 

The  wretched  prisoners  were  dragged  from 
the  hold,  all  except  Wendy,  and  ranged  in  line 
in  front  of  him.  For  a  time  he  seemed  uncon- 
scious of  their  presence.  He  lolled  at  his  ease, 
humming,  not  unmelodiously,  snatches  of  a  rude 
song,  and  fingering  a  pack  of  cards.  Ever  and 
anon  the  light  from  his  cigar  gave  a  touch  of 
colour  to  his  face. 

"Now  then,  bullies,"  he  said  briskly,  "six  of 
you  walk  the  plank  to-night,  but  I  have  room 
for  two  cabin  boys.  Which  of  you  is  it  to 
be.?" 

"Don't  irritate  him  unnecessarily,"  had  been 
Wendy's  instructions  in  the  hold;  so  Tootles 
stepped  forward  politely.  Tootles  hated  the 
idea  of  signing  under  such  a  man,  but  an 
instinct  told  him  that  it  would  be  prudent  to 
lay  the  responsibility  on  an  absent  person;  and 
though  a  somewhat  silly  boy,  he  knew  that 
mothers  alone  are  always  willing  to  be  the 
buffer.     All  children  know  this  about  mothers. 


208  PETER  AND   WENDY 

and  despise  tliem  for  It,  but  make  constant  use 
of  it. 

So  Tootles  explained  prudently,  *'You  see, 
sir,  I  don't  think  my  mother  would  like  me  to 
be  a  pirate.  Would  your  mother  like  you  to 
be  a  pirate,  Slightly?" 

He  winked  at  Slightly,  who  said  mournfully, 
'*I  don't  think  so,"  as  if  he  wished  things  had 
been  otherwise.  "Would  your  mother  like  you 
to  be  a  pirate,  Twin  ?  " 

*'I  don't  think  so,"  said  the  first  twin,  as  clever 
as  the  others.     *'Nibs,  would " 

'*  Stow  this  gab,"  roared  Hook,  and  the  spokes- 
men were  dragged  back.  "You,  boy,"  he  said, 
addressing  John,  "you  look  as  if  you  had  a  little 
pluck  in  you.  Didst  never  want  to  be  a  pirate, 
my  hearty  ?  " 

Now  John  had  sometimes  experienced  this 
hankering  at  maths,  prep.;  and  he  was  struck 
by  Hook's  picking  him  out. 

*'T  once  thought  of  calling  myself  Red- 
handed  Jack,"  he  said  diffidently. 

"And  a  good  name  too.  We  '11  call  you  that 
here,  bully,  if  you  join." 

"What  do  you  think,  Michael?"  asked  John. 


THE   PIRATE   SHIP  209 

"  What  would  you  call  me  if  I  join  ?  "  Mi^.hael 
demanded. 

"Blackbeard  Joe." 

Michael  was  naturally  impressed.  "What  do 
you  think,  John.?"  He  wanted  John  to  decide, 
and  John  wanted  him  to  decide. 

"Shall  we  still  be  respectful  subjects  of  the 
King  ?  "  John  inquired. 

Through  Hook's  teeth  came  the  answer: 
"You  would  have  to  swear,  *Down  with  the 
King.'" 

Perhaps  John  had  not  behaved  very  well  so 
far,  but  he  shone  out  now. 

"  Then  I  refuse ! "  he  cried,  banging  the  barrel 
in  front  of  Hook. 

"And  I  refuse,"  cried  Michael. 

"Rule  Britannia!"  squeaked  Curly. 

The  infuriated  pirates  buffeted  them  in  the 
mouth;  and  Hook  roared  out,  "That  seals  your 
doom.  Bring  up  their  mother.  Get  the  plank 
ready." 

They  were  only  boys,  and  they  went  white  as 
they  saw  Jukes  and  Cecco  preparing  the  fatal 
plank.  But  they  tried  to  look  brave  when 
Wendy  was  brought  up. 


210  PETER  AND   WENDY 

No  words  of  mine  can  tell  you  how  Wendy 
despised  those  pirates.  To  the  boys  there  was 
at  least  some  glamour  in  the  pirate  calling; 
but  all  that  she  saw  was  that  the  ship  had  not 
been  tidied  for  years.  There  was  not  a  port- 
hole, on  the  grimy  glass  of  which  you  might 
not  have  written  with  your  finger  *' Dirty  pig"; 
and  she  had  already  written  it  on  several.  But 
as  the  boys  gathered  round  her  she  had  no 
thought,  of  course,  save  for  them. 

"So,  my  beauty,"  said  Hook,  as  if  he  spoke 
in  syrup,  "you  are  to  see  your  children  walk 
the  plank." 

Fine  gentleman  though  he  was,  the  intensity 
of  his  communings  had  soiled  his  ruff,  and 
suddenly  he  knew  that  she  was  gazing  at  it. 
With  a  hasty  gesture  he  tried  to  hide  it,  but  he 
was  too  late. 

"Are  they  to  die?"  asked  Wendy,  with  a 
look  of  such  frightful  contempt  that  he  nearly 
fainted. 

"  They  are,"  he  snarled. "  Silence  all,"  he  called 
gloatingly,  "for  a  mother's  last  words  to  her 
children. 

At  this  moment  Wendy  was  grand.     "These 


THE  PIRATE  SHIP  211 

are  my  last  words,  dear  boys,"  she  said  firmly. 
*'I  feel  that  I  have  a  message  to  you  from  your 
real  mothers,  and  it  is  this:  *We  hope  our  sons 
will  die  like  English  gentlemen.' " 

Even  the  pirates  were  awed,  and  Tootles 
cried  out  hysterically,  "I  am  going  to  do  what 
my  mother  hope?  What  are  you  to  do. 
Nibs?" 

"What  my  mother  hopes.  What  are  you  to 
do.  Twin?" 

"What  my   mother  hopes.     John,  what  are 


But  Hook  had  found  his  voice  again. 

"  Tie  her  up ! "  he  shouted. 

It  was  Smee  who  tied  her  to  the  mast.  "See 
here,  honey,"  he  whispered,  "I'll  save  you  if 
you  promise  to  be  my  mother." 

But  not  even  for  Smee  would  she  make  such 
a  promise.  "I  would  almost  rather  have  no 
children  at  all,"  she  said  disdainfully. 

It  is  sad  to  know  that  not  a  boy  was  looking 
at  her  as  Smee  tied  her  to  the  mast;  the  eyes 
of  all  were  on  the  plank:  that  last  little  walk 
they  were  about  to  take.  They  were  no 
longer    able    to    hope    that    they    would    walk 


2U  PETER  AND   WENDY 

it  manfully,  for  the  capacity  to  think  had 
gone  from  them;  they  could  stare  and  shiver 
only. 

Hook  smiled  on  them  with  his  teeth  closed, 
and  took  a  step  toward  Wendy.  His  intention 
was  to  turn  her  face  so  that  she  should  see  the 
boys  walking  the  plank  one  by  one.  But  he 
never  reached  her,  he  never  heard  the  cry  of 
anguish  he  hoped  to  wring  from  her.  He  heard 
something  else  instead. 

It  was  the  terrible  tick-tick  of  the  crocodile. 

They  all  heard  it — pirates,  boys,  Wendy — 
and  immediately  every  head  was  blov^^n  in  one 
direction;  not  to  the  water  whence  the  sound 
proceeded,  but  toward  Hook.  All  knew  that 
what  was  about  to  happen  concerned  him  alone, 
and  that  from  being  actors  they  were  suddenly 
become  spectators. 

Very  frightful  was  it  to  see  the  change  that 
came  over  him.  It  was  as  if  he  had  been 
clipped  at  every  joint.  He  fell  in  a  little 
heap. 

The  sound  came  steadily  nearer;  and  in 
advance  of  it  came  this  ghastly  thought,  "the 
crocodile  is  about  to  board  the  ship"! 


THE   PIRATE   SHIP  213 

Even  the  iron  claw  hung  inactive;  as  if 
knowing  that  it  was  no  intrinsic  part  of  what 
the  attacking  force  wanted.  Left  so  fearfully 
alone,  any  other  man  would  have  lain  with  his 
eyes  shut  where  he  fell:  but  the  gigantic  brain 
of  Hook  was  still  working,  and  under  its 
guidance  he  crawled  on  his  knees  along  the 
deck  as  far  from  the  sound  as  he  could  go. 
The  pirates  respectfully  cleared  a  passage  for 
him,  and  it  was  only  when  he  brought  up 
against  the  bulwarks  that  he  spoke. 

"Hide  me!"  he  cried  hoarsely. 

They  gathered  round  him,  all  eyes  averted 
from  the  thing  that  was  coming  aboard.  They 
had  no  thought  of  fighting  it.     It  was  Fate. 

Only  when  Hook  was  hidden  from  them 
did  curiosity  loosen  the  limbs  of  the  boys  so 
that  they  could  rush  to  the  ship's  side  to  see 
the  crocodile  climbing  it.  Then  they  got  the 
strangest  surprise  of  this  Night  of  Nights;  for 
it  was  no  crocodile  that  was  coming  to  their 
aid.     It  was  Peter. 

He  signed  to  them  not  to  give  vent  to  any 
cry  of  admiration  that  might  rouse  suspicion. 
Then  he  went  on  ticking. 


CHAPTER    XV 

"hook  or  me  this  time" 

DD  tilings  happen  to  all  of  us  on  our 
way  through  life  without  our  noticing 
for  a  time  that  they  have  happened. 
Thus,  to  take  an  instance,  we  suddenly  dis- 
cover that  we  have  been  deaf  in  one  ear  for  we 
don't  know  how  long,  but,  say,  half  an  hour. 
Now  such  an  experience  had  come  that  night 
to  Peter.  When  last  we  saw  him  he  was  steal- 
ing across  the  island  with  one  finger  to  his  lips 
and  his  dagger  at  the  ready.  He  had  seen  the 
crocodile  pass  by  without  noticing  anything 
peculiar  about  it,  but  by  and  by  he  remembered 
that  it  had  not  been  ticking.  At  first  he 
thought  this  eerie,  but  soon  he  concluded  rightly 
that  the  clock  had  run  down. 

Without  giving  a  thought  to  what  might  be 
the  feelings  of  a  fellow-creature  thus  abruptly 

214 


"HOOK  OR  ME  THIS  TIME"     215 

deprived  of  its  closest  companion,  Peter  began 
to  consider  how  he  could  turn  the  catastrophe 
to  his  own  use;  and  he  decided  to  tick,  so  that 
wild  beasts  should  believe  he  was  the  crocodile 
and  let  him  pass  unmolested.  He  ticked 
superbly,  but  with  one  unforeseen  result.  The 
crocodile  was  among  those  who  heard  the  sound, 
and  it  followed  him,  though  whether  with  the 
purpose  of  regaining  what  it  had  lost,  or  merely 
as  a  friend  under  the  belief  that  it  was  again 
ticking  itself,  will  never  be  certainly  known,  for, 
like  all  slaves  to  a  fixed  idea,  it  was  a  stupid  beast. 

Peter  reached  the  shore  without  mishap,  and 
went  straight  on,  his  legs  encountering  the 
water  as  if  quite  unaware  that  they  had  entered 
a  new  element.  Thus  many  animals  pass  from 
land  to  water,  but  no  other  human  of  whom 
I  know.  As  he  swam  he  had  but  one  thought: 
"Hook  or  me  this  time."  He  had  ticked  so 
long  that  he  now  went  on  ticking  without 
knowing  that  he  was  doing  it.  Had  he  known 
he  would  have  stopped,  for  to  board  the  brig 
by  the  help  of  the  tick,  though  an  ingenious 
idea,  had  not  occurred  to  him. 

On  the  contrary,  he  thought  he  had  scaled 


216  PETER  AND   WENDY 

her  side  as  noiseless  as  a  mouse;  and  he  was 
amazed  to  see  the  pirates  cowering  from  him, 
with  Hook  in  their  midst  as  abject  as  if  he  had 
heard  the  crodocile. 

The  crocodile!  No  sooner  did  Peter  remem- 
ber it  than  he  heard  the  ticking.  At  first  he 
thought  the  sound  did  come  from  the  crocodile, 
and  he  looked  behind  him  swiftly.  Then  he 
realised  that  he  was  doing  it  himself,  and  in 
a  flash  he  understood  the  situation.  *'How 
clever  of  me!"  he  thought  at  once,  and  signed 
to  the  boys  not  to  burst  into  applause. 

It  was  at  this  moment  that  Ed  Teynte  the 
quartermaster  emerged  from  the  forecastle  and 
came  along  the  deck.  Now,  reader,  time  what 
happened  by  your  watch.  Peter  struck  true 
and  deep.  John  clapped  his  hands  on  the  ill- 
fated  pirate's  mouth  to  stifle  the  dying  groan. 
He  fell  forward.  Four  boys  caught  him  to  pre- 
vent the  thud.  Peter  gave  the  signal,  and  the 
carrion  was  cast  overboard.  There  was  a  splash, 
and  then  silence.     How  long  has  it  taken  ? 

"One!"     (Slightly  had  begun  to  count.) 

None  too  soon,  Peter,  every  inch  of  him  on 
tiptoe,  vanished  into  the  cabin;  for  more  than 


"HOOK  OR  ME  THIS  TIME"     217 

one  pirate  was  screwing  up  his  courage  to  look 
round.  They  could  hear  each  other's  distressed 
breathing  now,  which  showed  them  that  the 
more  terrible  sound  had  passed. 

"It's  gone,  captain,"  Smee  said,  wiping  his 
spectacles.     """All  's  still  again." 

Slowly  Hook  let  his  head  emerge  from  his 
ruff,  and  listened  so  intently  that  he  could  have 
caught  the  echo  of  the  tick.  There  was  not 
a  sound,  and  he  drew  himself  up  firmly  to  his 
full  height. 

**Then  here's  to  Johnny  Plank!"  he  cried 
brazenly,  hating  tlie  boys  more  than  ever 
because  they  had  seen  him  unbend.  He  broke 
into  the  villainous  ditty: 

"  Yo  ho,  yo  ho,  the  frisky  plank. 
You  walks  along  it  so. 
Till  it  goes  down  and  you  goes  down 
To  Davy  Jones  below!" 

To  terrorise  the  prisoners  the  more,  though 
with  a  certain  loss  of  dignity,  he  danced  along 
an  imaginary  plank,  grimacing  at  them  as  he 
sang;  and  when  he  finished  he  cried,  "Do  you 
want  a  touch  of  the  cat  before  you  walk  the 
plank.?" 


218  PETER  AND   WENDY 

At  that  they  fell  on  their  knees.  "No, 
no!"  they  cried  so  piteously  that  every  pirate 
smiled. 

"Fetch  the  cat,  Jukes,"  said  Hook,  "it's  In 
the  cabin." 

The  cabin!  Peter  was  In  the  cabin!  The 
children  gazed  at  each  other. 

"Ay,  ay,"  said  Jukes  blithely,  and  he  strode 
into  the  cabin.  They  followed  him  with  their 
eyes;  they  scarce  knew  that  Hook  had  resumed 
his  song,  his  dogs  joining  In  with  him: 

"  Yo  ho,  yo  ho,  the  scratching  cat. 
Its  tails  are  nine,  you  know, 
And  when  they  're  writ  upon  your  back — " 

What  was  the  last  line  will  never  be  known, 
for  of  a  sudden  the  song  was  stayed  by  a  dreadful 
screech  from  the  cabin.  It  wailed  through  the 
ship,  and  died  away.  Then  was  heard  a  crowing 
sound  which  was  well  understood  by  the  boys, 
but  to  the  pirates  was  almost  more  eerie  than 
the  screech. 

"What  was  that.?"  cried  Hook. 

"Two,"  said  Slightly  solemnly. 

The  Italian   Cecco   hesitated  for  a   moment 


"HOOK   OR   ME  THIS   TIME"     219 

and  then  swung  into  the  cabin.  He  tottered 
out,  haggard. 

"What's  the  matter  with  Bill  Jukes,  you 
dog  ? "  hissed  Hook,  towering  over  him. 

"The  matter  wi'  him  is  he's  dead,  stabbed," 
rephed  Cecco  in  a  hollow  voice. 

"Bill  Jukes  dead!"  cried  the  startled  pirates. 

"The  cabin  's  as  black  as  a  pit,"  Cecco  said, 
almost  gibbering,  "but  there  is  something 
terrible  in  there:  the  thing  you  heard  crowing." 

The  exultation  of  the  boys,  the  lowering 
looks  of  the  pirates,  both  were  seen  by  Hook. 

"Cecco,"  he  said  in  his  most  steely  voice,  "go 
back  and  fetch  me  out  that  doodle-doo." 

Cecco,  bravest  of  the  brave,  cowered  before 
his  captain,  crying  "No,  no";  but  Hook  was 
purring  to  his  claw. 

"Did  you  say  you  would  go,  Cecco?"  he 
said  musingly. 

Cecco  went,  first  flinging  up  his  arms 
despairingly.  There  was  no  more  singing,  all 
listened  now;  and  again  came  a  death-screech 
and  again  a  crow. 

No  one  spoke  except  Slightly.  "Three,"  he 
said. 


mo  PETER  AND   WENDY 

Hook  rallied  his  dogs  with  a  gesture.  "  S'death 
and  odds  fish,"  he  thundered,  "who  is  to  bring 
me  that  doodle-doo  ?  " 

"  Wait  till  Cecco  comes  out,"  growled  Starkey, 
and  the  others  took  up  the  cry. 

*'I  think  I  heard  you  volunteer,  Starkey," 
said  Hook,  purring  again. 

"No,  by  thunder!"  Starkey  cried. 

"My  hook  thinks  you  did,"  said  Hook,  cross- 
ing to  him.  "I  wonder  if  it  would  not  be 
advisable,  Starkey,  to  humour  the  hook  ?  " 

"I  '11  swing  before  I  go  in  there,"  replied 
Starkey  doggedly,  and  again  he  had  the  support 
of  the  crew. 

"Is  it  mutiny.'^"  asked  Hook  more  pleasantly 
than  ever.     " Starkey 's  ringleader!" 

"  Captain,  mercy! "  Starkey  whimpered, all  of  a 
tremble  now. 

"  Shake  hands,  Starkey,"  said  Hook,  proffering 
his  claw. 

Starkey  looked  round  for  help,  but  all 
deserted  him.  As  he  backed  Hook  advanced, 
and  now  the  red  spark  was  in  his  eye.  With  & 
despairing  scream  the  pirate  leapt  upon  Long 
Tom  and  precipitated  himself  into  the  sea. 


"HOOK  OR  ME  THIS  TIME"     £21 

"Four,"  said  Slightly. 

"And  now,"  Hook  asked  courteously,  "did 
any  other  gentleman  say  mutiny?"  Seizing  a 
lantern  and  raising  his  claw  with  a  menacing 
gesture,  "I  '11  bring  out  that  doodle-doo  myself," 
he  said,  and  sped  into  the  cabin. 

"Five."  How  Slightly  longed  to  say  it. 
He  wetted  his  lips  to  be  ready,  but  Hook  came 
staggering  out,  without  his  lantern. 

"Something  blew  out  the  light,"  he  said  a 
little  unsteadily. 

"Something!"  echoed  MuUins. 

"What  of  Cecco?"  demanded  Noodler. 

"He  's  as  dead  as  Jukes,"  said  Hook  shortly. 

His  reluctance  to  return  to  the  cabin  im- 
pressed them  all  unfavourably,  and  the  mutinous 
sounds  again  broke  forth.  All  pirates  are 
superstitious,  and  Cookson  cried,  "They  do 
say  the  surest  sign  a  ship's  accurst  is  when 
there  's  one  on  board  more  than  can  be  accounted 
for." 

"I  've  heard,"  muttered  Mulhns,  "he  always 
boards  the  pirate  craft  at  last.  Had  he  a  tail, 
captain?" 

"They  say,"  said  another,  looking  viciously  at 


222  PETER  AND   WENDY 

Hook,  "  that  when  he  comes  it 's  in  the  hkeness 
of  the  wickedest  man  aboard." 

"  Had  he  a  hook,  captain  ? "  asked  Cookson 
insolently;  and  one  after  another  took  up  the 
cry,  "  The  ship  's  doomed ! "  At  this  the  children 
could  not  resist  raising  a  cheer.  Hook  had 
well-nigh  forgotten  his  prisoners,  but  as  he 
swung  round  on  them  now  his  face  lit  up 
again. 

" Lads,"  he  cried  to  his  crew,  "here  's  a  notion. 
Open  the  cabin  door  and  drive  them  in.  Let 
them  fight  the  doodle-doo  for  their  lives.  If 
they  kill  him,  we're  so  much  the  better;  if  he 
kills  them,  we  're  none  the  worse." 

For  the  last  time  his  dogs  admired  Hook, 
and  devotedly  they  did  his  bidding.  The  boys, 
pretending  to  struggle,  were  pushed  into  the 
cabin  and  the  door  was  closed  on  them. 

*'Now,  listen!"  cried  Hook,  and  all  listened. 
But  not  one  dared  to  face  the  door.  Yes,  one, 
Wendy,  who  all  this  time  had  been  bound  to 
the  mast.  It  was  for  neither  a  scream  nor  a 
crow  that  she  was  watching,  it  was  for  the 
reappearance  of  Peter 

She  had  not  long  to  wait.     In  the  cabin  he 


"HOOK  OR  ME  THIS  TIME"     223 

had  found  the  thing  for  which  he  had  gone  in 
search:  the  key  that  would  free  the  children  of 
their  manacles,  and  now  they  all  stole  forth, 
armed  with  such  weapons  as  they  could  find. 
First  signing  to  them  to  hide,  Peter  cut 
Wendy's  bonds,  and  then  nothing  could  have 
been  easier  than  for  them  all  to  fly  off  together; 
but  one  thing  barred  the  way,  an  oath,  *'Hook 
or  me  this  time."  So  when  he  had  freed 
Wendy,  he  whispered  to  her  to  conceal  herself 
with  the  others,  and  himself  took  her  place  by 
the  mast,  her  cloak  around  him  so  that  he 
should  pass  for  her.  Then  he  took  a  great 
breath  and  crowed. 

To  the  pirates  it  was  a  voice  crying  that  all 
the  boys  lay  slain  in  the  cabin;  and  they  were 
panic-stricken.  Hook  tried  to  hearten  them, 
but  like  the  dogs  he  had  made  them  they 
showed  him  their  fangs,  and  he  knew  that  if 
he  took  his  eyes  off  them  now  they  would  leap 
at  him. 

"Lads,"  he  said,  ready  to  cajole  or  strike  as 
need  be,  but  never  quailing  for  an  instant, 
**  I  've  thought  it  out.     There 's  a  Jonah  aboard." 

"Ay,"  they  snarled,  "a  man  wi'  a  hook." 


224  PETER  AND   WENDY 

"  No,  lads,  no,  it 's  the  girl.  Never  was  luck 
on  a  pirate  ship  wi*  a  woman  on  board.  We  *11 
right  the  ship  when  she 's  gone." 

Some  of  them  remembered  that  this  had  been 
a  saying  of  Flint's.  "It's  worth  trying,"  they 
said  doubtfully. 

"Fling  the  girl  overboard,"  cried  Hook;  and 
they  made  a  rush  at  the  figure  in  the  cloak. 

"  There 's  none  can  save  you  now,  missy," 
Mullins  hissed  jeeringly. 

"There  's  one,"  replied  the  figure. 

"Who's  that.?" 

"Peter  Pan  the  avenger!"  came  the  terrible 
answer;  and  as  he  spoke  Peter  flung  off  his 
cloak.  Then  they  all  knew  who  'twas  that  had 
been  undoing  them  in  the  cabin,  and  twice 
Hook  essayed  to  speak  and  twice  he  failed.  In 
that  frightful  moment  I  think  his  fierce  heart 
broke. 

At  last  he  cried,  "Cleave  him  to  the  brisket!" 
but  without  conviction. 

"  Down,  boys,  and  at  them ! "  Peter's  voice  rang 
out;  and  in  another  moment  the  clash  of  arms 
was  resounding  through  the  ship.  Had  the 
pirates  kept  together  it  is  certain  that  they  would 


"HOOK   OR   ME   THIS   TIME"     225 

have  won;  but  the  onset  came  when  they  were 
all  unstrung,  and  they  ran  hither  and  thither, 
striking  wildly,  each  thinking  himself  the  last 
survivor  of  the  crew.  Man  to  man  they  w^ere 
the  stronger;  but  they  fought  on  the  defensive 
only,  which  enabled  the  boys  to  hunt  in  pairs 
and  choose  their  quarry.  Some  of  the  mis- 
creants leapt  into  the  sea,  others  hid  in  dark 
recesses,  where  they  were  found  by  Slightly, 
who  did  not  fight,  but  ran  about  with  a  lantern 
which  he  flashed  in  theii'  faces,  so  that  they 
were  half  blinded  and  fell  an  easy  prey  to  the 
reeking  swords  of  the  other  boys.  There  was 
little  sound  to  be  heard  but  the  clang  of 
weapons,  an  occasional  screech  or  splash,  and 
Slightly  monotonously  counting — five — six — 
seven — eight — nine — ten — eleven . 

I  think  all  were  gone  when  a  group  of  savage 
boys  surrounded  Hook,  who  seemed  to  have  a 
channed  life,  as  he  kept  them  at  bay  in  that 
circle  of  fire.  They  had  done  for  his  dogs,  but 
this  man  alone  seemed  to  be  a  match  for  them 
all.  Again  and  again  they  closed  upon  him, 
and  again  and  again  he  hewed  a  clear  space. 
He  had  lifted  up  one  boy  with  his  hook,  and 


226  PETER  AND   WENDY 

was  using  him  as  a  buckler,  when  another,  who 
had  just  passed  his  sword  through  MuUins, 
sprang  into  the  fray. 

"Put  up  your  swords,  boys,"  cried  the  new- 
comer, "  this  man  is  mine." 

Thus  suddenly  Hook  found  himself  face  to 
face  with  Peter.  The  others  drew  back  and 
formed  a  ring  round  them. 

For  long  the  two  enemies  looked  at  one 
another.  Hook  shudde^-ing  slightly,  and  Peter 
with  the  strange  smile  upon  his  face. 

"So,  Pan,"  said  Hook  at  last,  "this  is  all  your 
doing." 

"Ay,  James  Hook,"  came  the  stern  answer, 
"it  is  all  my  doing." 

"Proud  and  insolent  youth,"  said  Hook,  "pre- 
pare to  meet  thy  doom." 

"Dark  and  sinister  man,"  Peter  answered, 
"have  at  thee." 

Without  more  words  they  fell  to,  and  for  a 
space  there  was  no  advantage  to  either  blade. 
Peter  was  a  superb  swordsman,  and  parried 
with  dazzling  rapidity;  ever  and  anon  he 
followed  up  a  feint  with  a  lunge  that  got  past 
his  foe's  defence,  but  his  shorter  reach  stood  him 


"HOOK  OR  ME  THIS  TIME"     227 

in  ill  stead,  and  he  could  not  drive  the  steel 
home.  Hook,  scarcely  his  inferior  in  brilliancy, 
but  not  quite  so  nimble  in  wrist  play,  forced 
him  back  by  the  weight  of  his  onset,  hoping 
suddenly  to  end  all  with  a  favourite  thrust, 
taught  him  long  ago  by  Barbecue  at  Rio;  but 
to  his  astonishment  he  found  this  thrust  turned 
aside  again  and  again.  Then  he  sought  to  close 
and  give  the  quietus  with  his  iron  hook,  which 
all  this  time  had  been  pawing  the  air;  but  Peter 
doubled  under  it  and,  lunging  fiercely,  pierced 
him  in  the  ribs.  At  sight  of  his  own  blood, 
whose  peculiar  colour,  you  remember,  was 
offensive  to  him,  the  sword  fell  from  Hook's 
hand,  and  he  was  at  Peter's  mercy. 

"Now!"  cried  all  the  boys,  but  with  a  mag- 
nificent gesture  Peter  invited  his  opponent  to 
pick  up  his  sword.  Hook  did  so  instantly,  but 
with  a  tragic  feeling  that  Peter  was  showing 
good  form. 

Hitherto  he  had  thought  it  was  some  fiend 
fighting  him,  but  darker  suspicions  assailed  him 
now. 

"Pan,  who  and  what  art  thou?"  he  cried 
huskily. 


«28  PETER  AND   WENDY 

"I'm  youth,  I'm  joy,"  Peter  answered  at  a 
venture,  "I  'm  a  little  bird  that  has  broken  out 
of  the  egg."" 

This,  of  course,  was  nonsense;  but  it  was 
proof  to  the  unhappy  Hook  that  Peter  did  not 
know  in  the  least  who  or  what  he  was,  which 
is  the  very  pinnacle  of  good  form. 

"  To  't  again,"  he  cried  despairingly. 

He  fought  now  like  a  human  flail,  and  every 
sweep  of  that  terrible  sword  would  have  severed 
in  twain  any  man  or  boy  who  obstructed  it; 
but  Peter  fluttered  round  him  as  if  the  very 
wind  it  made  blew  him  out  of  the  danger 
zone.  And  again  and  again  he  darted  in  and 
pricked. 

Hook  was  fighting  now  without  hope.  That 
passionate  breast  no  longer  asked  for  life;  but 
for  one  boon  it  craved:  to  see  Peter  bad  form 
before  it  was  cold  for  ever. 

Abandoning  the  fight  he  rushed  into  the 
powder  magazine  and  fired  it. 

"In  two  minutes,"  he  cried,  "the  ship  will  be 
blown  to  pieces." 

Now,  now,  he  thought,  true  form  will  show. 

But  Peter  issued  from  the  powder  magazine 


"HOOK   OR   ME   THIS   TIME"     22.0 

with  the  shell  in  his  hands,  and  calmly  flung 
it  overboard. 

What  sort  of  form  was  Hook  himself  showing  ? 
Misguided  man  though  he  was,  we  may  be  glad, 
without  sympathising  with  him,  that  in  the  end 
he  was  true  to  the  traditions  of  his  race.  The 
other  boys  were  flying  around  him  now,  flout- 
ing, scornful;  and  as  he  staggered  about  the 
deck  striking  up  at  them  impotently,  his  mind 
was  no  longer  with  them;  it  was  slouching  in 
the  playing  fields  of  long  ago,  or  being  sent 
up  for  good,  or  watching  the  wall-game  from 
a  famous  wall.  And  his  shoes  were  right,  and 
his  waistcoat  was  right,  and  his  tie  was  right, 
and  his  socks  were  right. 

James  Hook,  thou  not  wholly  unheroic 
figure,  farewell. 

For  we  have  come  to  his  last  moment. 

Seeing  Peter  slowly  advancing  upon  him 
through  tlie  air  with  dagger  poised,  he  sprang 
upon  the  bulwarks  to  cast  himself  into  the  sea. 
He  did  not  know  that  the  crocodile  was  wait- 
ing for  him;  for  we  purposely  stopped  the  clock 
that  this  knowledge  might  be  spared  him :  a  little 
mark  of  respect  from  us  at  the  end. 


230  PETER  AND   WENDY 

He  had  one  last  triumph,  which  I  think  we 
need  not  grudge  him.  As  he  stood  on  the 
bulwark  looking  over  his  shoulder  at  Peter 
gliding  through  the  air,  he  invited  him  with  a 
gesture  to  use  his  foot.  It  made  Peter  kick 
instead  of  stab. 

At  last  Hook  had  got  the  boon  for  which  he 
craved. 

"Bad  form,"  he  cried  jeeringly,  and  went 
content  to  the  crocodile. 

Thus  perished  James  Hook. 

"  Seventeen,"  Slightly  sang  out;  but  he  was  not 
quite  correct  in  his  figures.  Fifteen  paid  the 
penalty  for  their  crimes  that  night;  but  two 
reached  the  shore:  Stark ey  to  be  captured  by 
the  redskins,  who  made  him  nurse  for  all  their 
papooses,  a  melancholy  come-down  for  a  pirate; 
and  Smee,  who  henceforth  wandered  about  the 
world  in  his  spectacles,  making  a  precarious 
living  by  saying  he  was  the  only  man  that  Jas. 
Hook  had  feared. 

Wendy,  of  course,  had  stood  by  taking  no 
part  in  the  fight,  though  watching  Peter  with 
glistening  eyes;  but  now  that  all  was  over  she 
became    prominent    again.     She    praised    them 


"HOOK  OR   ME   THIS   TIME"      231 

equally,  and  shuddered  delightfully  when 
Michael  showed  her  the  place  where  he  had 
killed  one;  and  then  she  took  them  into  Hook's 
cabin  and  pointed  to  his  watch  which  was 
hanging  on  a  nail.     It  said  "half -past  one"! 

The  lateness  of  the  hour  was  almost  the 
biggest  thing  of  all.  She  got  them  to  bed  in 
the  pirates'  bunks  pretty  quickly,  you  may  be 
sure;  all  but  Peter,  who  strutted  up  and  down 
on  deck,  until  at  last  he  fell  asleep  by  the 
side  of  Long  Tom.  He  had  one  of  his  dreams 
that  night,  and  cried  in  his  sleep  for  a  long 
time,  and  Wendy  held  him  tight. 


CHAPTER    XVI 

THE    RETURN    HOME 

BY  three  bells  next  morning  they  were  all 
stirrmg  their  stumps;  for  there  was  a 
big  sea  running,  and  Tootles,  the  bo'sun, 
was  among  them,  with  a  rope's  end  in  his  hand 
and  chewing  tobacco.  They  all  donned  pirate 
clothes  cut  off  at  the  knee,  shaved  smartly,  and 
tumbled  up,  with  the  true  nautical  roll  and 
hitching  their  trousers. 

It  need  not  be  said  who  was  the  captain. 
Nibs  and  John  were  first  and  second  mate. 
There  was  a  woman  aboard.  The  rest  were 
tars  before  the  mast,  and  hved  in  the  fo'c'sle. 
Peter  had  ah*eady  lashed  himself  to  the  wheel; 
but  he  piped  all  hands  and  delivered  a  short 
address  to  them;  said  he  hoped  they  would  do 
their  duty  like  gallant  hearties,  but  that  he  knew 

232 


THE  RETURN  HOME  ^.33 

they  were  the  scum  of  Rio  and  the  Gold  Coast, 
and  if  they  snapped  at  him  he  would  tear  them. 
His  bluff  strident  words  struck  the  note  sailors 
understand,  and  they  cheered  him  lustily.  Then 
a  few  sharp  orders  were  given,  and  they  turned 
the  ship  round,  and  nosed  her  for  the  mainland. 

Captain  Pan  calculated,  after  consulting  the 
ship's  chart,  that  if  this  weather  lasted  they 
should  strike  the  Azores  about  the  21st  of  June, 
after  which  it  would  save  time  to  fly. 

Some  of  them  wanted  it  to  be  an  honest  ship 
and  others  were  in  favour  of  keeping  it  a  pirate; 
but  the  captain  treated  them  as  dogs,  and  they 
dared  not  express  their  wishes  to  him  even  in  a 
round  robin.  Instant  obedience  was  the  only 
safe  thing.  Slightly  got  a  dozen  for  looking 
perplexed  when  told  to  take  soundings.  The 
general  feeling  was  that  Peter  was  honest  just 
now  to  lull  Wendy's  suspicions,  but  that  there 
might  be  a  change  when  the  new  suit  was  ready, 
which,  against  her  will,  she  was  making  for 
him  out  of  some  of  Hook's  wickedest  garments. 
It  was  afterwards  whispered  among  them  that 
on  the  first  night  he  wore  this  suit  he  sat  long  in 
tL\  cabin  with  Hook's  cigar-holder  in  his  mouth 


234  PETER  AND   WENDY 

and  one  hand  clenched,  all  but  the  forefinger, 
which  he  bent  and  held  threateningly  aloft  Uke 
a  hook. 

Instead  of  watching  the  ship,  however,  we 
must  now  return  to  that  desolate  home  from 
which  three  of  our  characters  had  taken  heart- 
less flight  so  long  ago.  It  seems  a  shame  to 
have  neglected  No.  14  all  this  time;  and  yet 
we  may  be  sure  that  Mrs.  Darling  does  not 
blame  us.  If  we  had  returned  sooner  to  look 
with  sorrowful  sympathy  at  her,  she  would 
probably  have  cried,  "Don't  be  silly,  what  do 
I  matter?  Do  go  back  and  keep  an  eye  on 
the  children."  So  long  as  mothers  are  like  this 
their  children  will  take  advantage  of  them;  and 
they  may  lay  to  that. 

Even  now  we  venture  into  that  familiar 
nursery  only  because  its  lawful  occupants  are  on 
their  way  home;  we  are  merely  hurrying  on  in 
advance  of  them  to  see  that  their  beds  are 
properly  aired  and  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Darling 
do  not  go  out  for  the  evening.  We  are  no 
more  than  servants.  Why  on  earth  should 
their  beds  be  properly  aired,  seeing  that  they 
left  them  in  such  a  thankless  hurry  ?     Would  it 


THE   RETURN   HOME  235 

not  serve  them  jolly  well  right  if  they  came 
back  and  found  that  their  parents  were  spending 
the  week-end  in  the  country?  It  would  be  the 
moral  lesson  they  have  been  in  need  of  ever 
since  we  met  them;  but  if  we  contrived  things 
in  this  way  Mrs.  Darling  would  never  forgive 
us. 

One  thing  I  should  like  to  do  immensely,  and 
that  is  to  tell  her,  in  the  way  authors  have,  that 
the  children  are  coming  back,  that  indeed  they 
will  be  here  on  Thursday  week.  This  would  spoil 
so  completely  the  surprise  to  which  Wendy  and 
John  and  Michael  are  looking  forward.  They 
have  been  planning  it  out  on  the  ship:  mother's 
rapture,  father's  shout  of  joy,  Nana's  leap 
through  the  air  to  embrace  them  first,  when 
what  they  ought  to  be  preparing  for  Is  a  good 
hiding.  How  delicious  to  spoil  it  all  by  break- 
ing the  news  in  advance;  so  that  when  they 
enter  grandly  Mrs.  Darling  may  not  even  offer 
Wendy  her  mouth,  and  Mr.  Darling  may 
exclaim  pettishly,  "Dash  it  ail,  iiere  are  those 
boys  again."  However,  we  should  get  no  tnall^^ 
even  for  this.  We  are  beginning  to  know  Mrs. 
Darling  by  this  time,  and  may  be  sure  that  she 


236  PETER  AND    WENDY 

would  upbraid  us  for  depriving  the  children  of 
their  little  pleasure. 

"But,  my  dear  madam,  it  is  ten  days  till 
Thursday  week;  so  that  by  telling  you  what's 
what,  we  can  save  you  ten  days  of  unhappi- 
ness.'* 

"Yes,  but  at  what  a  cost!  By  depriving  the 
children  of  ten  minutes  of  delight." 

"Oh,  if  you  look  at  it  in  that  way!" 

"  What  other  way  is  there  in  which  to  look  at 
it.^" 

You  see,  the  woman  had  no  proper  spirit. 
I  had  meant  to  say  extraordinarily  nice  things 
about  her;  but  I  despise  her,  and  not  one  of  them 
will  I  say  now.  She  does  not  really  need  to  be 
told  to  have  things  ready,  for  they  are  leady. 
All  the  beds  are  aired,  and  she  never  leaves  the 
house,  and  observe,  the  window  is  open.  For 
all  the  use  we  are  to  her,  we  might  go  back  to 
the  ship.  However,  as  we  are  here  we  may 
as  well  stay  and  look  on.  That  is  all  we  are^ 
lookers-on.  Nobody  really  wants  us.  So  let  us 
watch  and  say  jaggy  things,  in  the  hope  that 
some  of  them  will  hurt. 

The  only  change  to  be  seen   in  the  nights 


THE  RETURN  HOME  237 

nursery  is  that  between  nine  and  six  the  kennel  is 
no  longer  there.  When  the  children  flew  away, 
IVlr.  Darling  felt  in  his  bones  that  all  the  blame 
was  his  for  having  chained  Nana  up,  and  that 
from  first  to  last  she  had  been  wiser  than  he 
Of  course,  as  we  have  seen,  he  was  quite  a 
simple  man;  indeed  he  might  have  passed  for  a 
boy  again  if  he  had  been  able  to  take  his  bald- 
ness off;  but  he  had  also  a  noble  sense  of  justice 
and  a  lion  courage  to  do  what  seemed  right  to 
him;  and  having  thought  the  matter  out  with 
anxious  care  after  the  flight  of  the  children,  he 
went  down  on  all  fours  and  crawled  into  the 
kennel.  To  all  Mrs.  Darling's  dear  invitations 
to  him  to  come  out  he  replied  sadly  but  firmly: 
"No,  my  own  one,  this  is  the  place  for  me." 
In  the  bitterness  of  his  remorse  he  swore  that 
he  would  never  leave  the  kennel  until  his  chil- 
dren came  back.  Of  course  this  was  a  pity;  but 
whatever  Mr.  Darling  did  he  had  to  do  in  excess, 
otherwise  he  soon  gave  up  doing  it.  And  there 
never  was  a  more  humble  man  than  the  once 
proud  George  Darling,  as  he  sat  in  the  kennel 
of  au  evening  talking  with  his  wife  of  their 
children  and  all  their  pretty  ways. 


238  PETER  AND  WENDY 

Veiy  toucliing  was  his  deference  to  Nana. 
He  would  not  let  her  come  into  the  kennel,  but 
on  all  other  matters  he  followed  her  wishes  im- 
plicitly. 

Every  rooming  the  kennel  was  carried  with 
Mr.  Darling  in  it  to  a  cab,  which  conveyed  him 
to  his  oflBce,  and  he  returned  home  in  the  same 
way  at  six.  Something  of  the  strength  of 
character  of  the  man  will  be  seen  if  we  re- 
member how  sensitive  he  was  to  the  opinion 
of  neighbours:  this  man  whose  every  movement 
now  attracted  surprised  attention.  Inwardly 
he  must  have  suffered  torture;  but  he  preserved 
a  calm  exterior  even  when  the  young  criticised 
his  little  home,  and  he  always  lifted  his  hat 
courteously  to  any  lady  who  looked  inside. 

It  may  have  been  quixotic,  but  it  was  mag- 
nificent. Soon  the  inward  meaning  of  it  leaked 
out,  and  the  great  heart  of  the  public  was 
touched.  Crowds  followed  the  cab,  cheering  it 
lustily;  charming  girls  scaled  it  to  get  his  auto- 
graph; interviews  appeared  in  the  better  class  of 
papers,  and  society  invited  him  to  dinner  and 
added,  "Do  come  in  the  kennel." 

On  that  eventful  Thursday  week  Mrs.  Darling 


THE  RETURN   HOME  239 

was  in  the  night-nursery  awaiting  George's  return 
home:  a  very  sad-eyed  woman.  Now  that  we 
look  at  her  closely  and  remember  the  gaiety  of 
her  In  the  old  days,  all  gone  now  just  because  she 
has  lost  her  babes,  I  find  I  won't  be  able  to  say 
nasty  things  about  her  after  all.  If  she  was  too 
fond  of  her  rubbishy  children  she  couldn't  help  it. 
Look  at  her  in  her  chair,  where  she  has  fallen 
asleep.  The  corner  of  her  mouth,  where  one  looks 
first,  is  almost  withered  up.  Her  hand  moves 
restlessly  on  her  breast  as  if  she  had  a  pain  there. 
Some  like  Peter  best  and  some  like  Wendy 
best,  but  I  like  her  best.  Suppose,  to  make  her 
happy,  we  whisper  to  her  in  her  sleep  that  the 
brats  are  coming  back.  They  are  really  within 
two  miles  of  the  window  now,  and  flying  strong, 
but  all  we  need  whisper  is  that  they  are  on  the 
way.     Let 's. 

It  is  a  pity  we  did  it,  for  she  has  started  up, 
calling  their  names;  and  there  is  no  one  in 
the  room  but  Nana. 

"O  Nana,  I  dreamt  my  dear  ones  had  come 
back." 

Nana  had  filmy  eyes,  but  all  she  could  do  was 
to  put  her  paw  gently  on  her  mistress's  lap,  and 


240  PETER  AND   WENDY 

they  were  sitting  together  thus  when  the  kennel 
was  brought  back.  As  Mr.  Darhng  puts  his 
head  out  at  it  to  kiss  his  wife,  we  see  that  his 
face  is  more  worn  than  of  yore,  but  has  a  softer 
expression. 

He  gave  his  hat  to  Liza,  who  took  it  scorn- 
fully; for  she  had  no  imagination,  and  was  quite 
incapable  of  understanding  the  motives  of  such 
a  man.  Outside,  the  crowd  who  had  accom- 
panied the  cab  home  were  still  cheering,  and 
he  was  naturally  not  unmoved. 

"Listen  to  them,"  he  said;  "it  is  very  grati- 
fymg." 

"  Lot  of  Httle  boys,"  sneered  Liza. 

"There  were  several  adults  to-day,"  he  assured 
her  with  a  faint  flush;  but  when  she  tossed  her 
head  he  had  not  a  word  of  reproof  for  her.  Social 
success  had  not  spoilt  him;  it  had  made  him 
sweeter.  For  some  time  he  sat  with  his  head 
out  of  the  kennel,  talking  with  Mrs.  Darling  of 
this  success,  and  pressing  her  hand  reassuringly 
when  she  said  she  hoped  his  head  would  not  be 
turned  by  it. 

"But  if  I  had  been  a  weak  man,"  he  said. 
*Good  heavens,  if  I  had  been  a  weak  man!" 


THE   RETURN   HOME  241 

"And,  George,"  she  said  timidly,  "you  are  as 
full  of  remorse  as  ever,  aren't  you  ?" 

"Full  of  remorse  as  ever,  dearest!  See  my 
punishment:  living  in  a  kennel." 

"  But  it  is  punishment,  isn't  it,  George  ?  You 
are  sure  you  are  not  enjoying  it  ?  " 

"My  love!" 

You  may  be  sure  she  begged  his  pardon;  and 
then,  feeling  drowsy,  he  curled  round  in  the 
kennel. 

"  Won't  you  play  me  to  sleep,"  he  asked,  "  on 
the  nursery  piano?"  and  as  she  was  crossing  to 
the  day-nursery  he  added  thoughtlessly,  "And 
shut  that  wmdow.     I  feel  a  draught." 

"O,  George,  never  ask  me  to  do  that.  The 
window  must  always  be  left  open  for  them, 
always,  always." 

Now  it  was  his  turn  to  beg  her  pardon; 
and  she  went  into  the  day-nursery  and  played, 
and  soon  he  was  asleep;  and  while  he  slept, 
Wendy  and  John  and  Michael  flew  into  the 
room. 

Oh  no.  We  have  written  it  so,  because  that 
was  the  charming  arrangement  planned  by  them 
before   we  left  the   ship;  but  something   must 


242  PETER  AND   WENDY 

have  happened  since  then,  for  it  is  not  they 
who  have  flown  in,  it  is  Peter  and  Tinker  Bell. 

Peter's  fi.rst  words  tell  all. 

"Quick,  Tink,"  he  whispered,  "close  the  win- 
dow; bar  it!  That's  right.  Now  you  and  I 
must  get  away  by  the  door;  and  when  Wendy 
comes  she  will  think  her  mother  has  barred  her 
out,  and  she  will  have  to  go  back  with  me." 

Now  I  understand  what  had  hitherto  puzzled 
me,  why  when  Peter  had  exterminated  the 
pirates  he  did  not  return  to  the  island  and 
leave  Tink  to  escort  the  children  to  the  main- 
land. This  trick  had  been  in  his  head  all  the 
time. 

Instead  of  feeling  that  he  was  behaving  badly 
he  danced  with  glee;  then  he  peeped  into 
the  day-nursery  to  see  who  was  playing.  He 
whispered  to  Tink,  "It 's  Wendy's  mother!  She 
is  a  pretty  lady,  but  not  so  pretty  as  my  mother. 
Her  mouth  is  full  of  thimbles,  but  not  so  full  as 
my  mother's  was." 

Of  course  he  knew  nothing  whatever  about 
his  mother;  but  he  sometimes  bragged  about 
her. 

He  did  not  know  the  tune,  which  was  "  Home, 


THE  RETURN  HOME  243 

Sweet  Home,"  but  he  knew  It  was  saying, 
"Come  back,  Wendy,  Wendy,  Wendy";  and 
he  cried  exultantly,  *'You  will  never  see  Wendy 
again,  lady,  for  the  window  is  barred!" 

He  peeped  in  again  to  see  why  the  music  had 
stopped,  and  now  he  saw  that  Mrs.  Darling  had 
laid  her  head  on  the  box,  and  that  two  tears 
were  sitting  on  her  eyes. 

**  She  wants  me  to  unbar  the  window,"  thought 
Peter,  "but  I  won't,  not  I!" 

He  peeped  again,  and  the  tears  were  still 
there,  or  another  two  had  taken  their  place. 

"  She  's  awfully  fond  of  Wendy,"  he  said  to 
himself.  He  was  angry  with  her  now  for  not 
seeing  why  she  could  not  have  Wendy. 

The  reason  was  so  simple:  "I  'm  fond  of  her 
too.     We  can't  both  have  her,  lady." 

But  the  lady  would  not  make  the  best  of  it, 
and  he  was  unhappy.  He  ceased  to  look  at 
her,  but  even  then  she  would  not  let  go  of  him. 
He  skipped  about  and  made  funny  faces,  but 
when  he  stopped  It  was  just  as  If  she  were  Inside 
him,  knocking. 

*'Oh,  all  right,"  he  said  at  last,  and  gulped. 
Then   he   unbarred   the   window.     "Come   on. 


244  PETER  AND  WENDY 

Tink,"  he  cried,  with  a  frightful  sneer  at  the 
laws  of  nature;  *'we  don't  want  any  silly 
mothers";  and  he  flew  away. 

Thus  Wendy  and  John  and  Michael  found 
the  window  open  for  them  after  all,  which  of 
course  was  more  than  they  deserved.  They 
alighted  on  the  floor,  quite  unashamed  of  them- 
selves, and  the  youngest  one  had  already  for- 
gotten his  home. 

*'  John,"  he  said,  looking  around  him  doubt- 
fully, *'I  think  I  have  been  here  before." 

*'Of  course  you  have,  you  silly.  There  is 
your  old  bed." 

*'So  it  is,"  Michael  said,  but  not  with  much 
conviction. 

"I  say,"  cried  John,  "the  kennel!"  and  he 
dashed  across  to  look  into  it. 

"Perhaps  Nana  is  inside  it,"  Wendy  said. 

But  John  whistled.  **  Hullo,"  he  said,  "  there 's 
a  man  inside  it." 

"It's  father!"  exclaimed  Wendy. 

"  Let  me  see  father,"  Michael  begged  eagerly, 
and  he  took  a  good  look.  "He  is  not  so  big  as 
the  pirate  I  killed,"  he  said  with  such  frank  dis- 
appointment that  I  am  glad  Mr.  Darling  was 


THE  RETURN  HOME  245 

asleep ;  it  would  have  been  sad  if  those  had  been 
the  first  words  he  heard  his  little  Michael  say. 

Wendy  and  John  had  been  taken  aback 
somewhat  at  finding  their  father  in  the  kennel. 

"Surely,"  said  John,  like  one  who  had  lost 
faith  in  his  memory,  "he  used  not  to  sleep  in 
the  kennel?" 

"John,"  Wendy  said  falteringly,  "  perhaps  we 
don't  remember  the  old  life  as  well  as  we 
thought  we  did." 

A  chill  fell  upon  them;  and  serve  them  right. 

"It  is  very  careless  of  mother,"  said  that 
young  scoundrel  John,  "not  to  be  here  when  we 
come  back." 

It  was  then  that  Mrs.  Darling  began  playing 
again. 

"It  's  mother!"  cried  Wendy,  peeping. 

"So  it  is!"  said  John. 

"  Then  are  you  not  really  our  mother,  Wendy  ?  " 
asked  Michael,  who  was  surely  sleepy. 

"Oh  dear!"  exclaimed  Wendy,  with  her  first 
real  twinge  of  remorse,  "it  was  quite  time  we 
came  back." 

"Let  us  creep  in,"  John  suggested,  "and  put 
our  hands  over  her  eyes." 


£46  PETER  AND   WENDY 

But  Wendy,  who  saw  that  they  must  break 
the  joyous  news  more  gently,  had  a  better  plan. 

"Let  us  all  slip  into  our  beds,  and  be  there 
when  she  comes  in,  just  as  if  we  had  never  been 
away." 

And  so  when  Mrs.  Darling  went  back  to  the 
night-nursery  to  see  if  her  husband  was  asleep, 
all  the  beds  were  occupied.  The  children  waited 
for  her  cry  of  joy,  but  it  did  not  come.  She 
saw  them,  but  she  did  not  believe  they  were 
there.  You  see,  she  saw  them  in  their  beds  so 
often  in  her  dreams  that  she  thought  this  was 
just  the  dream  hanging  around  her  still. 

She  sat  down  in  the  chair  by  the  fire,  where  in 
the  old  days  she  had  nursed  them. 

They  could  not  understand  this,  and  a  cold 
fear  fell  upon  all  the  three  of  them. 

"Mother!"  Wendy  cried. 

"  That 's  Wendy,"  she  said,  but  still  she  was 
sure  it  was  the  dream. 

"Mother!" 

"That 's  John,"  she  said. 

"Mother!"  cried  Michael.  He  knew  her 
now. 

"That 's  Michael,"  she  said,  and  she  stretched 


THE  RETURN  HOME  247 

out  her  arms  for  the  three  Httle  selfish  children 
they  would  never  envelop  again.  Yes,  they  did, 
they  went  round  Wendy  and  John  and  Michael, 
who  had  slipped  out  of  bed  and  run  to  her. 

"George,  George!"  she  cried  when  she  could 
speak;  and  Mr.  Darling  woke  to  share  her  bliss, 
and  Nana  came  rushing  in.  There  could  not 
have  been  a  lovelier  sight;  but  there  was  none 
to  see  it  except  a  little  boy  who  was  staring  in 
at  the  window.  He  had  ecstasies  innumerable 
that  other  children  can  never  know;  but  he  was 
looking  through  the  window  at  the  one  joy 
from  which  he  must  be  for  ever  barred. 


CHAPTER    XVII 

WHEN   WENDY   GREW   UP 

I  HOPE  you  want  to  know  what  became 
of  the  other  boys.  They  were  waiting 
below  to  give  Wendy  time  to  explain 
about  them,  and  when  they  had  counted  five 
hundred  they  went  up.  They  went  up  by  the 
stair,  because  they  thought  this  would  make  a 
better  impression.  They  stood  in  a  row  in 
front  of  Mrs.  Darling,  with  their  hats  off,  and 
wishing  they  were  not  wearing  their  pirate 
clothes.  They  said  nothing,  but  their  eyes 
asked  her  to  have  them.  They  ought  to  have 
looked  at  Mr.  Darling  also,  but  they  forgot 
about  him. 

Of  course  Mrs.  Darling  said  at  once  that  she 
would  have  them;  but  Mr.  Darling  was  curiously 

248 


WHEN  WENDY  GREW  UP        249 

depressed,  and  they  saw  that  he  considered  six 
a  rather  large  number. 

"I  must  say,"  he  said  to  Wendy,  "that  you 
don't  do  things  by  halves,"  a  grudging  remark 
which  the  twins  thought  was  pointed  at  them. 

The  first  twin  was  the  proud  one,  and  he 
asked,  flushing,  "Do  you  think  we  should  be 
too  much  of  a  handful,  sir?  Because  if  so  we 
can  go  away." 

"Father!"  Wendy  cried,  shocked;  but  still 
the  cloud  was  on  him.  He  knew  he  was 
behaving  unworthily,  but  he  could  not  help  it. 

"We  could  lie  doubled  up,"  said  Nibs. 

"I  always  cut  their  hair  myself,"  said  Wendy. 

"George!"  Mrs.  Darling  exclaimed,  pained 
to  see  her  dear  one  showing  himself  in  such  an 
unfavourable  light. 

Then  he  burst  into  tears,  and  the  truth  came 
out.  He  was  as  glad  to  have  them  as  she  was, 
he  said,  but  he  thought  they  should  have  asked 
his  consent  as  well  as  hers,  instead  of  treating 
him  as  a  cypher  in  his  own  house. 

"I  don't  think  he  is  a  cypher,"  Tootles  cried 
instantly.  "Do  you  think  he  is  a  cypher, 
Curly?" 


250  PETER  AND   WENDY 

"  No,  I  don't.  Do  you  think  he  is  a  cypher, 
SHghtly?" 

"Rather  not.     Twin,  what  do  you  think?" 

It  turned  out  that  not  one  of  them  thought 
him  a  cypher;  and  he  was  absurdly  gratified, 
and  said  he  would  find  space  for  them  all  in  the 
drawing-room  if  they  fitted  in. 

"We  '11  fit  in,  sir,"  they  assured  him. 

"Then  follow  the  leader,"  he  cried  gaily. 
"Mind  you,  I  am  not  sure  that  we  have  a 
drawing-room,  but  we  pretend  we  have,  and 
it  's  all  the  same.     Hoop  la!" 

He  went  off  dancing  through  the  house,  and 
they  all  cried  "Hoop  la!"  and  danced  after  him, 
searching  for  the  drawing-room;  and  I  forget 
whether  they  found  it,  but  at  any  rate  they 
found  corners,  and  they  all  fitted  in. 

As  for  Peter,  he  saw  Wendy  once  again 
before  he  flew  away.  He  did  not  exactly  come 
to  the  window,  but  he  brushed  against  it  in 
passing,  so  that  she  could  open  it  if  she  liked 
and  call  to  him.     That  was  what  she  did. 

'*  Hullo,  Wendy,  good-bye,"  he  said. 

"  Oh  dear,  are  you  going  away  ?  " 

"Yes." 


WHEN  WENDY  GREW  UP        251 

"You  don't  feel,  Peter,"  she  said  falteringly, 
"that  you  would  like  to  say  anything  to  my 
parents  about  a  very  sweet  subject?" 

"No." 

"About  me,  Peter?" 

"No." 

Mrs.  Darling  came  to  the  window,  for  at 
present  she  was  keeping  a  sharp  eye  on  Wendy. 
She  told  Peter  that  she  had  adopted  all  the 
other  boys,  and  would  like  to  adopt  him  also. 

"Would  you  send  me  to  school?"  he  inquired 
craftily. 

"Yes." 

"And  then  to  an  office?" 

"I  suppose  so." 

"Soon  I  should  be  a  man?" 

"Very  soon." 

"I  don't  want  to  go  to  school  and  learn 
solemn  things,"  he  told  her  passionately.  "I 
don't  want  to  be  a  man.  O  Wendy's  mother, 
if  I  was  to  wake  up  and  feel  there  was  a 
beard!" 

"Peter,"  said  Wendy  the  comforter,  "I  should 
love  you  in  a  beard ; "  and  Mrs.  Darling  stretched 
out  her  arms  to  him,  but  he  repulsed  her. 


252  PETER  AND   WENDY 

*'  Keep  back,  lady,  no  one  is  going  to  catch  me 
and  make  me  a  man." 

"  But  where  are  you  going  to  Hve  ?  " 

"  With  Tink  in  the  house  we  built  for  Wendy. 
The  fairies  are  to  put  it  high  up  among  the  tree 
tops  where  they  sleep  at  nights." 

"How  lovely,"  cried  Wendy  so  longingly  that 
Mrs.  Darling  tightened  her  grip. 

*'I  thought  all  the  fairies  were  dead,"  Mrs. 
Darling  said. 

"There  are  always  a  lot  of  young  ones," 
explained  Wendy,  who  was  now  quite  an 
authority,  "because  you  see  when  a  new  baby 
laughs  for  the  first  time  a  new  fairy  is  born, 
and  as  there  are  always  new  babies  there  are 
always  new  fairies.  They  live  in  nests  on  the 
tops  of  trees;  and  the  mauve  ones  are  boys  and 
the  white  ones  are  girls,  and  the  blue  ones  are 
just  little  sillies  who  are  not  sure  what  they 
are." 

"I  shall  have  such  fun,"  said  Peter,  with  one 
eye  on  Wendy. 

"It  will  be  rather  lonely  in  the  evening,"  she 
said,  "sitting  by  the  fire." 

"I  shall  have  Tink." 


WHEN  WENDY   GREW  UP       253 

*'Tink  can't  go  a  twentieth  part  of  the  way 
round,"  she  reminded  him  a  Kttle  tartly. 

"Sneaky  tell-tale!"  Tink  called  out  from 
somewhere  round  the  corner. 

*'It  doesn't  matter,"  Peter  said. 

**0  Peter,  you  know  it  matters." 

"Well,  then,  come  with  me  to  the  little 
house." 

"May  I,  mummy.?" 

"Certainly  not.  I  have  got  you  home  again, 
and  I  mean  to  keep  you." 

"  But  he  does  so  need  a  mother." 

"So  do  you,  my  love." 

"  Oh,  all  right,"  Peter  said,  as  if  he  had  asked 
her  from  politeness  merely;  but  Mrs.  Darling 
saw  his  mouth  twitch,  and  she  made  this  hand- 
some offer:  to  let  Wendy  go  to  him  for  a  week 
every  year  and  do  his  spring  cleaning.  Wendy 
would  have  preferred  a  more  permanent  arrange- 
ment, and  it  seemed  to  her  that  spring  would 
be  long  in  coming,  but  this  promise  sent  Peter 
away  quite  gay  again.  He  had  no  sense  of  time, 
and  was  so  full  of  adventures  that  all  I  have  told 
you  about  him  is  only  a  halfpenny  worth  of 
them.     I  suppose  it  was  because  Wendy  knew 


254  PETER  AND   WENDY 

this  that  her  last  words  to  him  were  these 
rather  plaintive  ones: 

"  You  won't  forget  me,  Peter,  will  you,  before 
spring-cleaning  time  comes  ?  " 

Of  course  Peter  promised,  and  then  he  flew 
away.  He  took  Mrs.  Darling's  kiss  with  him. 
The  kiss  that  had  been  for  no  one  else  Peter 
took  quite  easily.  Funny.  But  she  seemed 
satisfied. 

Of  course  all  the  boys  went  to  school;  and 
most  of  them  got  into  Class  iii.,  but  Slightly 
was  put  first  into  Class  iv.  and  then  into  Class  v. 
Class  I.  is  the  top  class.  Before  they  had 
attended  school  a  week  they  saw  what  goats 
they  had  been  not  to  remain  on  the  island ;  but 
it  was  too  late  now,  and  soon  they  settled  down 
to  being  as  ordinary  as  you  or  me  or  Jenkins 
minor.  It  is  sad  to  have  to  say  that  the  power 
to  fly  gradually  left  them.  At  first  Nana  tied 
their  feet  to  the  bed-posts  so  that  they  should 
not  fly  away  in  the  night;  and  one  of  their 
diversions  by  day  was  to  pretend  to  fall  off 
buses;  but  by  and  by  they  ceased  to  tug  at 
their  bonds  in  bed,  and  found  that  they  hurt 
themselves  when   they  let  go  of  the  bus.     In 


WHEN  WENDY  GREW  UP       255 

time  they  could  not  even  fly  after  their  hats. 
Want  of  practice,  they  called  it;  but  what 
it  really  meant  was  that  they  no  longer 
believed. 

Michael  believed  longer  than  the  other  boys, 
though  they  jeered  at  him;  so  he  was  with 
Wendy  when  Peter  came  for  her  at  the  end 
of  the  first  year.  She  flew  away  with  Peter 
in  the  frock  she  had  woven  from  leaves  and 
berries  in  the  Neverland,  and  her  one  fear 
was  that  he  might  notice  how  short  it  had 
become,  but  he  never  noticed,  he  had  so  much 
to  say  about  himself. 

She  had  looked  forward  to  thrilling  talks  with 
him  about  old  times,  but  new  adventures  had 
crowded  the  old  ones  from  his  mind. 

"Who  is  Captain  Hook.?"  he  asked  with 
interest  when  she  spoke  of  the  arch  enemy. 

"Don't  you  remember,"  she  asked,  amazed, 
"  how  you  killed  him  and  saved  all  our  lives  ? " 

"I  forget  them  after  I  kill  them,"  he  replied 
carelessly. 

When  she  expressed  a  doubtful  hope  that 
Tinker  Bell  would  be  glad  to  see  her  he  said, 
"Who  is  Tinker  Bell?" 


25Q  PETER  AND   WENDY 

"O  Peter!"  she  said,  shocked;  but  even  when 
she  explained  he  could  not  remember. 

"There  are  such  a  lot  of  them,"  he  said.  "I 
expect  she  is  no  more." 

I  expect  he  was  right,  for  fairies  don't  live 
long,  but  they  are  so  little  that  a  short  time 
seems  a  good  while  to  them. 

Wendy  was  pained  too  to  find  that  the  past 
year  was  but  as  yesterday  to  Peter;  it  had 
seemed  such  a  long  year  of  waiting  to  her. 
But  he  was  exactly  as  fascinating  as  ever,  and 
they  had  a  lovely  spring  cleaning  in  the  little 
house  on  the  tree  tops. 

Next  year  he  did  not  come  for  her.  She 
waited  in  a  new  frock  because  the  old  one 
simply  would  not  meet,  but  he  never  came. 

"Perhaps  he  is  ill,"  Michael  said. 

"You  know  he  is  never  ill." 

Michael  came  close  to  her  and  whispered,  with 
a  shiver,  "Perhaps  there  is  no  such  person, 
Wendy!"  and  then  Wendy  would  have  cried 
if  Michael  had  not  been  crying. 

Peter  came  next  spring  cleaning;  and  the 
strange  thing  was  that  he  never  knew  he  had 
missed  a  year. 


WHEN   WENDY   GREW  UP        257 

That  was  the  last  time  the  girl  Wendy  ever 
saw  him.  For  a  little  longer  she  tried  for  his 
sake  not  to  have  growing  pains;  and  she  felt 
she  was  untrue  to  him  when  she  got  a  prize 
for  general  knowledge.  But  the  years  came 
and  went  without  bringing  the  careless  boy; 
and  when  they  met  again  Wendy  was  a  married 
woman,  and  Peter  was  no  more  to  her  than  a 
little  dust  in  the  box  in  which  she  had  kept  her 
toys.  Wendy  was  grown  up.  You  need  not 
be  sorry  for  her.  She  was  one  of  the  kind 
that  likes  to  grow  up.  In  the  end  she  grew 
up  of  her  own  free  will  a  day  quicker  than 
other  girls. 

All  the  boys  were  grown  up  and  done  for  by 
this  time;  so  it  is  scarcely  worth  while  saying 
anything  more  about  them.  You  may  see  the 
twins  and  Nibs  and  Curly  any  day  going  to 
an  office,  each  carrying  a  little  bag  and  an 
umbrella.  Michael  is  an  engine-driver.  Slightly 
married  a  lady  of  title,  and  so  he  became  a  lord. 
You  see  that  judge  in  a  wig  coming  out  at  the 
iron  door.P  That  used  to  be  Tootles.  The 
bearded  man  who  doesn't  know  any  story  to 
tell  his  children  was  once  John. 


258  PETER  AND   WENDY 

Wendy  was  married  in  white  with  a  pink 
sash.  It  is  strange  to  think  that  Peter  did 
not  alight  in  the  church  and  forbid  the  banns. 

Years  rolled  on  again,  and  Wendy  had  a 
daughter.  This  ought  not  to  be  written  in  ink 
but  in  a  golden  splash. 

She  was  called  Jane,  and  always  had  an  odd 
inquiring  look,  as  if  from  the  moment  she 
arrived  on  the  mainland  she  wanted  to  ask 
questions.  When  she  was  old  enough  to  ask 
them  they  were  mostly  about  Peter  Pan.  She 
loved  to  hear  of  Peter,  and  Wendy  told  her  all 
she  could  remember  in  the  very  nursery  from 
which  the  famous  flight  had  taken  place.  It 
was  Jane's  nursery  now,  for  her  father  had 
bought  it  at  the  three  per  cents,  from  Wendy's 
father,  who  was  no  longer  fond  of  stairs.  Mrs. 
Darling  was  now  dead  and  forgotten. 

There  were  only  two  beds  in  the  nursery  now, 
Jane's  and  her  nurse's;  and  there  was  no  kennel, 
for  Nana  also  had  passed  away.  She  died  of  old 
age,  and  at  the  end  she  had  been  rather  difficult 
to  get  on  with,  being  very  firmly  convinced  that 
no  one  knew  how  to  look  after  children  except 
herself. 


WHEN  WENDY   GREW  UP       259 

Once  a  week  Jane's  nurse  had  her  evening 
off,  and  then  it  was  Wendy's  part  to  put  Jane 
to  bed.  That  was  the  time  for  stories.  It  was 
Jane's  invention  to  raise  the  sheet  over  her 
mother's  head  and  her  own,  thus  making  a  tent, 
and  in  the  awful  darkness  to  whisper: — 

"  What  do  we  see  now  ?  " 

"I  don't  think  I  see  anything  to-night,"  says 
Wendy,  with  a  feehng  that  if  Nana  were  here 
she  would  object  to  further  conversation. 

"Yes,  you  do,"  says  Jane,  "you  see  when  you 
were  a  little  girl." 

"That  is  a  long  time  ago,  sweetheart,"  says 
Wendy.     "Ah  me,  how  time  flies!" 

"Does  it  fly,"  asks  the  artful  child,  "the  way 
you  flew  when  you  were  a  little  girl  ?  " 

"The  way  I  flew!  Do  you  know,  Jane,  I 
sometimes  wonder  whether  I  ever  did  really  fly." 

"Yes,  you  did." 

"The  dear  old  days  when  I  could  fly!" 

"  Why  can't  you  fly  now,  mother  ?  " 

"Because  I  am  grown  up,  dearest.  When 
people  grow  up  they  forget  the  way." 

"  Why  do  they  forget  the  way  ?  " 

"  Because  they  are  no  longer  gay  and  innocent 


260  PETER   AND    WENDY 

and  heartless.  It  is  only  the  gay  and  innocent 
and  heartless  who  can  fly." 

"  What  is  gay  and  innocent  and  heartless  ?  I 
do  wish  I  was  gay  and  innocent  and  heartless.'* 

Or  perhaps  Wendy  admits  she  does  see 
something.  "  I  do  believe,"  she  says,  "  that  it  is 
this  nursery!" 

*'I  do  believe  it  is!"  says  Jane.     "Go  on." 

They  are  now  embarked  on  the  great  adven- 
ture of  the  night  when  Peter  flew  in  looking 
for  his  shadow. 

"The  foolish  fellow,"  says  Wendy,  "tried  to 
stick  it  on  with  soap,  and  when  he  could  not 
he  cried,  and  that  woke  me,  and  I  sewed  it  on 
for  him." 

"You  have  missed  a  bit,"  interrupts  Jane, 
who  now  knows  the  story  better  than  her 
mother.  "When  you  saw  him  sitting  on  the 
floor  crying  what  did  you  say.'^" 

"I  sat  up  in  bed  and  I  said,  'Boy,  why  are 
you  crying  .^ ' " 

"Yes,  that  was  it,"  says  Jane,  with  a  big 
breath. 

"And  then  he  flew  us  all  away  to  the 
Neverland  and  the  fairies  and  the  pirates  and 


WHEN   WENDY  GREW  UP       261 

the  redskins  and  the  mermaids*  lagoon,  and  the 
home  under  the  ground,  and  the  Httle  house." 

"Yes!  which  did  you  like  best  of  all?" 

"I  think  I  liked  the  home  under  the  ground 
best  of  all." 

"Yes,  so  do  I.  What  was  the  last  thing 
Peter  ever  said  to  you  ?  " 

"  The  last  thing  he  ever  said  to  me  was,  *  Just 
always  be  waiting  for  me,  and  then  some  night 
you  will  hear  me  crowing.'" 

"Yes!" 

"But,  alas,  he  forgot  all  about  me."  Wendy 
said  it  with  a  smile.  She  was  as  grown  up  as 
that. 

"  What  did  his  crow  sound  like  ? "  Jane  asked 
one  evening. 

"It  was  like  this,"  Wendy  said,  trying  to 
imitate  Peter's  crow. 

"No,  it  wasn't,"  Jane  said  gravely,  "it  was 
like  this";  and  she  did  it  ever  so  much  better 
than  her  mother. 

Wendy  was  a  little  startled.  "My  darling, 
how  can  you  know  ?  " 

"I  often  hear  it  when  I  am  sleeping,"  Jane 
said. 


^62  PETER  AND   WENDY 

"Ah  yes,  many  girls  hear  it  when  they  are 
sleeping,  but  I  was  the  only  one  who  heard  it 
awake." 

"Lucky  you!"  said  Jane. 

And  then  one  night  came  the  tragedy.  It 
was  the  spring  of  the  year,  and  the  story  had 
been  told  for  the  night,  and  Jane  was  now 
asleep  in  her  bed.  Wendy  was  sitting  on  the 
floor,  very  close  to  the  fire  so  as  to  see  to  dam, 
for  there  was  no  other  light  in  the  nursery;  and 
while  she  sat  darning  she  heard  a  crow.  Then 
the  window  blew  open  as  of  old,  and  Peter 
dropped  on  the  floor. 

He  was  exactly  the  same  as  ever,  and  Wendy 
saw  at  once  that  he  still  had  all  his  first 
teeth. 

He  was  a  little  boy,  and  she  was  grown  up. 
She  huddled  by  the  fire  not  daring  to  move, 
helpless  and  guilty,  a  big  woman. 

"Hullo,  Wendy,"  he  said,  not  noticing  any 
difference,  for  he  was  thinking  chiefly  of  him- 
self; and  in  the  dim  light  her  white  dress  might 
have  been  the  nightgown  in  which  he  had  seen 
her  first. 

"Hullo,  Peter,"  she  replied  faintly,  squeezing 


WHEN  WENDY  GREW  UP       263 

herself  as  small  as  possible.  Something  inside 
her  was  crying  "Woman,  woman,  let  go  of 
me. 

"Hullo,  where  is  John.''"  he  asked,  suddenly 
missing  the  third  bed. 

"  John  is  not  here  now  ? "  she  gasped. 

"  Is  Michael  asleep  ?  "  he  asked,  with  a  careless 
glance  at  Jane. 

"Yes,"  she  answered;  and  now  she  felt  that 
she  was  untrue  to  Jane  as  well  as  to  Peter. 

"That  is  not  Michael,"  she  said  quickly,  lest 
a  judgment  should  fall  on  her. 

Peter  looked.     "Hullo,  is  it  a  new  one?" 

"Yes." 

"Boy  or  girl?" 

"Girl." 

Now  surely  he  would  understand;  but  not  a 
bit  of  it. 

"  Peter,"  she  said,  faltering, "  are  you  expecting 
me  to  fly  away  with  you  ? " 

"  Of  course ;  that  is  why  I  have  come."  He 
added  a  little  sternly,  "Have  you  forgotten  that 
this  is  spring-cleaning  time?" 

She  knew  it  was  useless  to  say  that  he  had 
let  many  spring-cleaning  times  pass. 


264  PETER  AND   WENDY 

"I  can't  come,"  she  said  apologetically,  "I 
have  forgotten  how  to  fly." 

"I  '11  soon  teach  you  again." 

"O,  Peter,  don't  waste  the  fairy  dust  on 
me." 

She  had  risen,  and  now  at  last  a  fear 
assailed  him.  "What  is  it?"  he  cried,  shrink- 
ing. 

**  I  will  turn  up  the  light,"  she  said,  "  and  then 
you  can  see  for  yourself." 

For  almost  the  only  time  in  his  life  that  I 
know  of,  Peter  was  afraid.  "  Don't  turn  up  the 
light,"  he  cried. 

She  let  her  hands  play  in  the  hair  of  the  tragic 
boy.  She  was  not  a  little  girl  heart-broken 
about  him;  she  was  a  grown  woman  smiling  at 
it  all,  but  they  were  wet  smiles. 

Then  she  turned  up  the  light,  and  Peter  saw. 
He  gave  a  cry  of  pain ;  and  when  the  tall  beautiful 
creature  stooped  to  lift  him  in  her  arms  he  drew 
back  sharply. 

"What  is  it?"  he  cried  again. 

She  had  to  tell  him. 

"  I  am  old,  Peter.  I  am  ever  so  much  more 
than  twenty.    I  grew  up  long  ago." 


WHEN    WENDY   GREW  UP        265 

"*You  promised  not  to!'^ 

**I  couldn't  help  it.  I  am  a  married  woman, 
Peter." 

*'No,  you  're  not." 

"Yes,  and  tlie  little  girl  in  the  bed  is  my 
baby." 

*'No,  she 'snot." 

But  he  supposed  she  was;  and  he  took  a  step 
towards  the  sleeping  child  with  his  fist  upraised. 
Of  course  he  did  not  strike  her.  He  sat  down 
on  the  floor  and  sobbed,  and  Wendy  did  not 
know  how  to  comfort  him,  though  she  could 
have  done  it  so  easily  once.  She  was  only  a 
woman  now,  and  she  ran  out  of  the  room  to  try 
to  think. 

Peter  continued  to  cry,  and  soon  his  sobs 
woke  Jane.  She  sat  up  in  bed,  and  was  interested 
at  once. 

*'Boy,"  she  said,  "why  are  you  crying .?" 

Peter  rose  and  bowed  to  her,  and  she  bowed 
to  him  from  the  bed. 

"Hullo,"  he  said. 

"Hullo,"  said  Jane. 

"My  name  is  Peter  Pan,"  he  told  her. 

"Yes,  I  know." 


^66  PETER  AND   WENDY 

**I  came  back  for  my  mother,"  he  explained, 
**to  take  her  to  the  Neverland." 

"Yes,  I  know,"  Jane  said,  "I  been  waiting 
for  you." 

When  Wendy  returned  diflSdently  she  found 
Peter  sitting  on  the  bed-post  crowing  gloriously, 
while  Jane  in  her  nighty  was  flying  round  the 
room  in  solemn  ecstasy. 

"  She  is  my  mother,"  Peter  explained ;  and  Jane 
descended  and  stood  by  his  side,  with  the  look 
on  her  face  that  he  liked  to  see  on  ladies  when 
they  gazed  at  him. 

"  He  does  so  need  a  mother,"  Jane  said. 

"Yes,  I  know,"  Wendy  admitted,  rather 
forlornly;  "no  one  knows  it  so  well  as  I." 

"Good-bye,"  said  Peter  to  Wendy;  and  he 
rose  in  the  air,  and  the  shameless  Jane  rose  with 
him;  it  was  already  her  easiest  way  of  moving 
about. 

Wendy  rushed  to  the  window, 

"No,  no!"  she  cried. 

"  It  is  just  for  spring-cleaning  time,"  Jane  said; 
**he  wants  me  always  to  do  his  spring  cleaning." 

"If  only  I  could  go  with  you!"  Wendy 
sighed. 


WHEN  WENDY  GREW  UP        267 

*You  see  you  can't  fly,"  said  Jane. 

Of  course  in  the  end  Wendy  let  them  fly 
away  together.  Our  last  glimpse  of  her  shows 
her  at  the  window,  watching  them  receding  into 
the  sky  until  they  were  as  small  as  stars. 

As  you  look  at  Wendy  you  may  see  her  hair 
becoming  white,  and  her  figure  little  again,  for  all 
this  happened  long  ago.  Jane  is  now  a  common 
grown-up,  with  a  daughter  called  Margaret; 
and  every  spring-cleaning  time,  except  when  he 
forgets,  Peter  comes  for  Margaret  and  takes  her 
to  the  Neverland,  where  she  tells  him  stories 
about  himself,  to  which  he  listens  eagerly. 
When  Margaret  grows  up  she  will  have  a 
daughter,  who  is  to  be  Peter's  mother  in  turn; 
and  so  it  will  go  on,  so  long  as  children  are 
gay  and  innocent  and  heartless. 


THE  END 


I 


